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The  Prjisidicide 


'A>**'^*'^j'^*i^^    c/^-*—,  ^}J ■  ^  /i^^ii-c- 


AND 


BATTLE  OF  ANTIETAM. 


BY 

J_^UNBAR  HYLTOX.  M.  D., 

AUTHOR  OF  "VOICES  FROM  THE  ROCET  MOrNTAINS,"  ETC. 


SECOND   EDITION. 


NEW   YORK: 

H 0 W A PvD    CH ALLEN, 

744   BROADWAY. 
1884. 


ISS4- 


PREFACE. 

The  scene  of  this  poem,  which  is  in  the  form  of  a  Mono- 
logue, and  is  supposed  to  give  the  thoughts  and  feehngs  of 
Booth,  before,  at,  and  after  the  murder  of  the  President,  is 
laid  in  the  barn  amid.st  the  swamps  of  Maryland,  to  which 
5      Booth  made  his  escape  after  the  assassination.      I    have 
striven  to  make  available  for  poetical  composition  the  most 
:.'       conspicuous  events  in  the  history  of  the  conspiracy,  down  to 
^/)       the  night  when  Booth  and  his  associates  set  out  on  their  er- 
^^       rands  of  murder.     Except  in  a  few  inconsiderable  matters, 
necessary  for  the  creation  of  a  poem  of  this  length,  I  have 
adhered  to  the  same  survey  of  the  conspiracy  as  that  taken  by 
the  government.     My  idea  of  Booth's  character  is  founded  on 
the  descriptions  given  of  him,  by  those  who  seem  to  have 
been  best  acquainted  with  him,  and  who  represent  him  as  a 
man  high  in  his  own  conceit,  proud,  rash,  boastful  and  prone 
to  be  quarrelsome,  with  little  heed  for  anything  except  the 
gratification  of  his  own  whims  and  desires. 
The  title  of  this  work,  "Prsesidicide,"  is  a  word  of  my  own 
i     coining,  taken  from  the  Latin  prassidens,  a  president,  and 
^     caedo,  to  kill,  and  is  not  to  be  found  in  any  dictionary  pub- 


--nI 


>o 


— ; 


lished  up  to  this  date. 
Palmyra,  New  Jersey. 


Vn  November,  18G5.  (3) 


I  0229 1  0 


THE  PK^SIDICIDE. 


Dark,  dark  the  night  is  closing  in, 

Fast  falls  the  pelting  rain, 
And  o'er  the  moors  terrific  roars 

The  driving  hurricane. 
And  through  the  forests  bleak  and  bare, 

The  tempests  howl  and  moan, 
As  if  the  dead  of  the  past  were  there, 

Burst  from  earth  with  yell  and  groan. 
A  horrid,  horrid,  ghastly  shriek 

Of  strange,  unearthly  tone. 
Or  wild  infernal  laugh,  that  thrills 

Through  nerve,  and  vein,  and  bone. 
And  comes  a  fierce  tumultuous  sound, 

As  is  that  mighty  roar, 
When  foamy  billows  boil  and  bound, 

Upon  a  hollow  shore — ■ 
But  the  ocean  coast  is  far  aloof, 

A  hundred  miles  or  more. 
Aha!  a  lightning  bolt  has  thrown, 

Yon  oak  to  earth  amain. 
And  like  a  fallen  king  it  lies, 

Its  limbs  athwart  the  plain. 
Like  Titan  of  primeval  growth, 

In  battle  overthrown — 
It  falls,  though  storm,  and  fiery  bolt, 

A  thousand  years  had  known. 
Ay,  ay,  like  mortal  man  himself, 

Slain  on  the  lightning's  path 
Or  panym  Idol  tumbled  prone 

Beneath  Jehovah's  wrath, 
All  with  lurid  fire  girdled, 

And  with  a  crashing  sound, 
In  all  its  giant  bulk  and  length, 

'Tis  thrown  along  the  ground. 
Deep  and  fast  night's  mirky  mantle, 

With  tomb-like  darkness  falls, 
While  eagle  unto  eagle  screams. 

To  vulture  vulture  calls. 
The  sheep  within  the  far  off  fold 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Raise  oft  a  mournful  cry, 
And  oft  I  hear  the  nigtt  hawks'  scream 

As  round  and  round  they  fly, 
Amidst  the  crashing  reeling  groves 

I  hear  the  croaking  owlj 
The  ravens  shriek,  and  far  away 

I  hear  the  watch-dogs  howl. 
Ho!  the  demons  of  the  tempest 

Now  ride  abroad  sublime — 
In  all  their  wildest  terrors  clothed, 

As  in  some  tropic  clime. 
Xow  flash  the  forked  lightning  bolts, 

And  loud  the  thunders  boom, 
The  world  a  moment's  light  they  give, 

Then  tumult  and  dense  gloom. 
There's  a  moment's  pause,  a  silence 

Awful,  deep  and  dread, 
As  though  the  warring  elements 

Were  now  benumbed  or  dead. 
They  pause  like  fierce  contending  hosts 

Upon  a  bloody  heath, 
When  night  has  hidden  shield  and  helm, 

And  spear,  and  sword,  and  sheath. 
And  all  in  moody  silence  halt 

To  catch  a  moment's  breath, 
Ere  the  columns  close  for  aye — 

In  the  awful  grasp  of  death. 
Now  comes  a  trembling  o'er  the  world, 

As  though  the  teeming  earth 
Were  labouring  with  volcanic  throes, 

O'er  some  stupendous  birth  ! 
And  lightnings  flash  and  peal,  as  though 

To  rend  earth's  giant  frame. 
And  strove  to  make  the  heavens  wear 

A  zone  of  gleamy  flame. 
The  tempests  shriek,  the  torrents  roar 

In  headlong  fury  by, 
Oh,  there  is  madness  on  the  earth, 

And  anger  in  the  sky  ! 
And  there  is  madness  in  my  soul, 

And  horror  in  my  mind, 
Sorrow,  Remorse  and  grim  Despair, 

All  visit  me  combined. 
For  gnawing  Hunger,  Want  and  Pain, 

Like  coiling  adders  cling 
Round  all  my  throbbing,  vital  parts, 

And  pierce,  and  tear,  and  sting. 
Despised  and  lone  and  trodden  down, 
Dark  with  the  clouds  of  sin — 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Savage  and  fierce  and  low  and  vile 

Is  all  the  soul  within — 
Nor  can  it  e'er  from  grief  and  woe 

A  moment's  respite  win. 
Ah,  yes,  I  ever  more  must  be 

As  at  this  cursed  time — 
A  wreck  cast  on  the  shore  of  woe 

By  blasts  and  waves  of  crime  ! 
Deep,  deep  each  sound  strikes  in  my  soul 

That  booms  upon  my  ear, 
As  though  this  awful  night  some  fiend 

Would  dash  me  down  with  fear. 
Was  it  a  spirit  of  the  dead, 

Or  but  the  howling  storm 
That  shakes  this  damp  and  dismal  bield— 

That  just  now  touched  my  form  ? 
I  felt  fingers  passing  through  my  hair, 

A  hand  upon  my  brow, 
A  breath  breathe  on  my  burning  cheek, — 

Aha,  I  feel  them  now ! 
If  you  are  indeed  a  spirit 

In  form,  and  face  like  man — 
I  will  defy  you  to  the  last, 

So  do  the  worst  you  can. 
Come,  if  you  will,  and  do  your  worst 

While  here  I  lie  alone. 
While  no  mortal  is  nigh  to  hear 

My  sad  and  frequent  groan. 
Come,  fiend  or  devil,  what  you  are 

Your  terrors  round  me  cast ; 
"Bring  all  hell's  ghastly  spectres  near, 

And  call  up  all  my  past. 
But  think  not  while  on  earth  I  stay. 

Though  racked  with  mad  despair — 
You  have  power  to  stay  my  thoughts, 

Or  make  me  quail  with  fear. 

II. 

Ho !  Ho !  what  form  was  that  I  saw, 

All  clad  in  robes  of  white  ! 
That  just  now  crossed  this  dismal  floor — 

When  came  yon  flash  of  light  ? 
Was  it  indeed  a  human  form, 

Or  spirit  of  the  dead? 
His  stature  was  tall  and  stately, 

And  wide  his  shoulders  spread, 
And  his  eyes  they  shone  like  fire. 

Yet  noiseless  was  his  tread. 
But  I  have  seen  that  form  before, 

And  that  bold  open  stare. 
Yea,  a  hundred  times  and  more — 


8  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Just  as  I  saw  them  there. 
They're  the  features  and  the  form 

Of  the  noblest  man  on  earth, 
More  than  Washington  and  Caesar 

In  glory  and  in  worth. 
As  noble  and  as  good  a  man, 

As  free  from  lust  and  crime, 
As  ever  trod  this  world  of  woe 
Through  all  the  tide  of  time. 
A  soul  that  no  mean  thought  can  touch 

Through  joy,  or  sorrow  dun, 
More  than  the  lightning's  fearful  bolt 

Can  strike  the  glowing  sun. 
The  man  who  never  shunned  a  friend, 

Who  felt  for  others  wne, 
And  ever  ready  to  forgive 
His  most  inveterate  foe. 
Yea,  the  generous  and  the  kind. 

The  bountious  and  the  free, 
The  open  heart  and  hand,  in  joy, 

Or  dark  adversity. 
The  man  of  all  mankind — least 

Has  ever  injured  me. 
His  like  the  land  shall  see  no  more, 

He  the  wisest,  noblest,  best, 
Who  stood  midst  the  wise  men  of  the  land 

King-like,  high  o'er  the  rest. 
He  whose  constant  prayer  was  peace, 

And  for  it  strove  like  man — 
When  Treason's  hideous  trumpet  blared, 

And  when  the  war  began, 
He  who  held  to  the  rebels  all 

The  olive  branch  in  view. 
Who  only  sought  to  pardon  them — 

Not  force  the  vengeance  due ; 
Hail  them  with  open  hand  and  heart, 

With  friendship  warm  and  true. 
Bid  war  and  desolation  cease, 
And  yet  that  man  I  slew. 

III. 

Ah!    had  I  died  long,  long  ago 

While  in  my  early  prime. 
Ah  !  wherefore  was  I  ever  born 

To  grow  so  deep  in  crime  ? 
Why  did  I  ne'er  fall  in  battle 

When  rushing  with  the  brave, 
Or  when  a  ship  boy,  in  the  deep 

Ne'er  find  an  early  grave  ? 
Why  was  I  ne'er  hurl'd  off  the  mast  ? 

"For  there  I  loved  to  go 


") 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  9 

When  thunders  bellow'd  over  head, 

And  billows  roar'd  below, 
Ay,  then  I'd  sit  and  sing  and  laugh 

Till  pass'd  the  storm  away, 
While  all  the  trembling  crew  below 

Had  kneel'd  in  fear  to  pray. 
Oh !  had  I  lived  an  humble  man 

W^ithin  some  mountain  e:len  ; 
Oh  !  had  I  never  roam'd  this  world 

And  mix'd  with  sinful  men 
I  ne'er  had  done  the  horrid  deed 

That  causes  all  my  woe, 
And  makes  me  an  outcast  and  felon, 

No  matter  where  I  go. 
No  matter  where  on  earth  I  tread  ^ 

Men  will  pursue  my  path; 
And  though  I  'scape  all  human  laws 

I  can't  God's  buining  wrath. 

IV. 

Ho  !   Ho  !  what  noise  is  that  without. 

That  shakes  this  dismal  bield  ? 
Lo  !  'tis  the  deepening  storm,  's  death  ! 

How  dread  that  thunder  peal'd. 
Ah  would  to  God  !  that  yonder  clouds, 

That  red  with  lightnings  glow, 
And  with  their  awful  thunders  seem 

To  rock  the  world  below, 
Would  now  but  bellow  nearer  mc, 

And  burst  upon  my  head, 
And  all  thoughts  of  the  past  drive  out, 

And  leave  me  with  the  dead. 
Ah  !  might  one  fell  bolt  from  heaven. 

Come  crashing  through  my  frame — 
Send  my  spirit  whirling  aloft 

On  wings  of  dazzling  flame. 
Myself  I  now  would  stay  with  joy, 

And  men  forever  shun; 
But  then  an  angry  God  I'd  meet, 

With  twice  iold  murder  done. 
Oh  !  could  I  wander  forth  alone 

To  some  strange  savage  land — 
That  ne'er  was  trod  by  human  foot, 

Or  touched  by  human  hand. 
Yea,  thither  would  I  fly  with  haste, 

Though  racked  with  mad  despair, 
And  shun  all  human  kind  for  aye, 

And  all  I  once  held  dear, 
I'd  hold  my  still  communion 

Day  and  night  with  God  alone, 
And  with  repentance  and  with  prayer 


10  THE    PRiESIDICIDE. 

For  all  my  guilt  atone. 
For  I  had  sooner  trust  for  mercy 

From  the  all  righteous  God — 
Than  unto  the  kindest  mortal, 

That  e'er  this  world  has  trod. 
Nor  could  I  ought  of  mercy  crave 

From  any  mortal  man, 
For  I  have  warr'd  'gainst  human  kind 

Since  first  my  life  began. 
Ah  yes,  against  my  fellow  kind 

My  hand  has  always  striven, 
Till  now,  when  e'er  they  breathe  my  name- 

They  quake  and  shudder  at  the  same. 
As  trees  by  lightning  riven. 

Nor  shall  they  e'er  take  me  living 
To  judge  me  for  my  crime, 

If  but  one  bare  chance  be  left  mc 
To  end  my  earthly  time. 

They  ne'er  shall  try  me  for  the  deed 
By  mortal  code  and  rule, 

Man  deals  towards  man  by  his  own  laws 
And  acts  just  like  a  fool, 

And  all  are  just  as  vile  as  I, 
As  much  the  devil's  tool. 

No,  fjod  alone  shall  be  my  judge, 
When  at  His  throne  on  high. 

The  murder'd  and  the  murderer 
Shall  meet  before  his  eye. 

Ay,  there  I'll  see  the  man  I  slew, 
And  once  more  view  his  face. 

There  hear  my  awful  doom  pronounced, 
Go  to  my  appointed  place. 

V. 

Oh  God  !  'tis  sad  to  sit  and  think 

On  awful  things  like  these, 
And  know  the  soul  must  some  day  face 

The  dread  realities. 
The  soul  must  some  day  give  account 

Of  all  its  deeds  on  earth. 
Yea,  uncover  every  secret  crime 

And  thoughts  that  gave  it  birth. 
Man  we  may  cheat,  but  never  God, 

What  He  has  will'd  shall  stand 
Through  all  eternity,  upheld 

By  His  eternal  hand  ; 
And  though  I  'scape  all  human  laws, 

And  prosper  here  awhile, 
What  mercy  can  I  crave  from  God, 

Would  He  pardon  one  so  vile  ? 
Ah,  it  seems  hard  the  soul  should  mourn. 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  11 

Through  everlasting  time — 
For  deeds  done  in  its  earthly  frame, 

The  body's  acts  of  crime. 
Say,  has  the  immortal  spirit — 

That  thing,  we  call  man's  soul, — 
O'er  deeds  and  actions  of  his  flesh, 

Such  vast  divine  control  ? 
If  so,  why  do  we  always  sin 

From  the  hour  of  birth — 
'Till  we  die  and  the  spirit  gives 

The  body  to  the  earth  ? 
I  cannot  tell,  but  this  1  think, 

That  if  the  soul  of  man — 
When  first  unto  this  world  it  came, 

And  first  its  course  began — 
Own'd  such  light  and  power  divine. 

As  priests  and  preachers  say, 
To  keep  its  earthly  form  from  sin, 

And  o'er  it  hold  its  sway 
Myself  had  never  sinn'd  at  all. 

As  through  this  life  I  trod. 
And  the  best  of  men  had  held 

A  stricter  walk  with  God. 
I've  done  no  deed  in  all  my  life, 

That  had  a  taint  of  sin — 
But  I  felt  deep  remorse,  and  hoped 

Forgiveness  soon  to  win. 
I  never  doubted  from  the  first, 

There  was  a  God  on  high, 
And  if  I  be  by  him  condcmn'd. 

Woe  takes  me,  when  I  die, 
Oft  I've  felt  a  something  in  me,  , 

It  must  have  been  my  soul, 
Or  some  unseen  divine  agent 

That  o'er  me  held  control. 
I've  felt  it  from  the  paths  of  sin, 

Warn  me  many  a  time; 
But  flesh  had  greater  sway,  and  the 

Devil  urged  me  on  to  crime. 
So  when  I  die,  my  spirit  goes, 

My  God  alone  knows  where, 
Ah  !  must  it  mourn  for  all  the  sin. 

Its  mortal  frame  did  here  ? 
Ah  !  must  it  linger  through  all  time 

In  everlasting  woe, 
Though  it  warr'd  with  its  wayward  flesh. 

While  here  on  earth  below? 
Will  it  not  rise  on  wings  of  light  ? 

Soar  back  to  whence  it  sprung, 
To  whence  began  its  light  and  life; 

No  more  with  anguish  wrung ! 


12  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Like  tlie  distant  wandering  comet 

When  its  far  course  is  run, 
That  homewards  turns  with  light  and  joy 

And  mingles  with  the  sun  ! 
Yea,  when  it  leaves  its  earthly  home, 

Rejoicing  to  be  free 
Aye  from  sin,  is  it  doom'd  alone 

To  endless  misery  ? 
When  it  departs  and  leaves  its  ciay, 

We  mortals  see  it  not, 
We  only  know,  that  life  has  gone. 

And  then  proud  man  is  what  ? 
A  load  of  useless  clay,  that  soon 

Grows  hurtful  to  the  view — 
And  smell  of  all  his  fellow  men — 

Ay  ,  all  he  loved  and  knew. 
And  soon  in  earth  he's  hid  from  sight, 

Turns  to  the  dust  we  spurn, 
For  out  of  dust  alone  we  sprung. 

And  to  dust  we  shall  return. 
And  this  is  nature's  mandate  o'er  us, 

That  none  shall  shun  below, 
Man  from  the  dust  of  earth  was  form'd— = 

And  back  to  dust  shall  go. 
And  though  we  cover  o'er  our  dead 

With  massive  marble  tombs, 
Heap  rock  on  rock  above  the  grave. 

Till  high  to  heaven  it  looms. 
Yet  soon  the  hand  of  time  will  wear 

The  monument  away. 
E'en  as  the  mountains  of  the  world 

Waste,  crumble,  and  decay. 
With  time  each  stately  monument 

Shall  be  to  ruin  hurl'd, 
The  grave  wear  down  and  scatter  us 

Unto  the  moving  world. 
The  dead  we  cast  into  the  sea, 

May  sink  to  ocean's  floor, 
But  soon  the  waters  carry  them 

Unto  some  distant  shore. 
There  to  moulder  into  dust, 

As  all  frail  human  things, 
Be  pcatter'd  o'er  creation  wide 

Upon  the  tempest's  wings. 

VI. 

Such  is  the  end  of  mortals  all — 

The  coward  and  the  brave; 
Ay  ,  all  alike  must  sink  to  dust. 

The  peasant,  king  and  slave. 
It  is  man's  certain  destiny. 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  13 

Yet,  when  we  look  at  him — 
He  seems  so  like  a  god  in  move, 

And  thought  and  form  and  limb, — 
It  seems  sti-ange,  one  so  high  and  grand 

Above  all  things  on  earth, 
Should  carry  out  the  blackest  crimes, 

That  e'er  all  hell  gave  birth. — 
Look  at  man,  from  that  mind  of  his, 

What  noble  thoughts  can  shoot. 
Yet  he'll  glor}'  in  deeds,  that  would 

Disgrace  the  meanest  brute. 
Look  at  him,  who  could  think  but  God 

Made  so  wonderful  a  thing; 
See  the  muscles,  veins,  nerves  and  bones, 

That  together  move  and  spring. 
Most  complex,  abstruse  architecture 

Is  this  form  of  man — 
Of  all  the  things,  that  God  has  placed 

On  earth's  diurnal  span. 
Look  at  his  orb  of  sight  and  see 

How  wonderful  'tis  form'd, 
How  frail  the  veins  by  which  it  with 

Life's  crimson  tide  is  warm'd  j 
Its  arteries  display  the  skill 

Of  Him,  who  made  them  so, 
And  bade  the  crimson  floods  send  forth 

New  vigor  as  they  flow. 
Here,  what  a  world  of  action  moves 

Within  so  small  a  span, 
None,  but  the  everlasting  God 

So  grand  a  thing  could  plan. 
And  well  his  nervous  system  shows 

How  wonderful  he's  framed, 
It  through  all  time,  the  searching  world's 

Astonishment  has  claimed ; 
When  harm'd  it  carries  swift  as  light 

The  tidings  to  the  brain — 
From  thence,  through  all  his  fearful  form 

The  news  is  sent  amain. 
As  lightning  the  intelligence 

Is  borne  to  every  part, 
With  all  the  system  swift  it  blends 

And  lifts  the  throbbing  heart, 
That  heart  whose  valves  and  ventricles 

So  small  and  fragile  seem, 
Through  which  forever  night  and  day 

Flows  life's  warm  crimson  stream. 
Look  at  each  ganglia  and  see 

How  skilfully  and  grand — 
The  veins  and  arteries  are  placed 

By  the  Eternal  hand 


14  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

And  look  on  those  frail  Lacteals 

That  gather  in  the  chyle, 
From  all  that  passes  in  their  range, 

A  strange  unseemly  pile, 
Life's  nourishment  they  there  distill 

Forever  and  for  aye, 
Which  through  glands  to  the  thoracic  duct 

Forever  wends  its  way. 
Help'd  by  small  valves  unto  a  vain 
Soon  sweeps  the  priceless  flood — 
Which  swift  within  the  heart  is  pour'd 

And  forms  the  living  blood. 
From  thence  unto  the  yielding  lungs 

The  dark  red  torrent  flows. 
Soon  cleansed  and  fiU'd  with  oxygen — 

Back  to  the  heart  it  goes. 
Then  it  sweeps  through  arteries 

Life-sending  through  his  form. 
Giving  vigor  to  every  part — 

Keeping  it  strong  and  warm. 
Through  arteries  and  capillaries 

The  heart  its  torrent  sends. 
Throughout  his  form,  then  back  through  veins 

The  living  torrent  wends. 
And  as  the  blood  is  flowing  on 

From  and  backward  to  the  heart — 
Both  life  and  death  are  going  on. 

At  every  move  and  start : 
For  cells  forever  grow  and  die 
As  the  blood  rushes  through 
The  arteries  and  veins,  as  one  dies 

Another  forms  anew, 
These,  with  all  atoms  of  the  blood 
Are  downward  pour'd  amain — 
To  the  distant  renal-realm 

Through  many  a  winding  drain ; 
And  there  'tis  purified,  the  good 

Unto  the  heart  returns, 
While  all  the  foul  unhealthy  Dart 

A  spacious  vault  inurns. 
So  through  some  fair  fertile  realm 

The  waters  sweep  amain, 
Forever  flowing  on  and  on 

Eternal  through  each  drain 
Their  virtues  to  the  lands  they  give, 

The  forests  bloom  and  grow, 
Then  others  come  while  they  rush  on 
To  some  abyss  below. 

VII. 

Hell  and  devils  !  what  thoughts  are  these 


THE    PRiESIDICIDE.  15 

For  one  so  steep* d  in  crime  ? 
One  who  must  bear  the  curse  of  man 

Until  the  end  of  time. 
Hell  and  fiends,  what  strange  thoughts  to  fill 

The  mind  of  one  so  low, 
What  care  I  for  spirit  or  for  man 

In  this  my  hour  of  woe  ? 
What  care  1  if  his  arteries, 

Capillaries  and  veins, 
Be  countless  as  the  panting  streams 

Of  Basra's  spacious  plains  ? 
What  care  I  how  the  crimson  tide 

Throughout  their  winding  flows  ? 
Or  for  its  maker's  fearful  skill 

Each  thew  and  sinew  shows? 
For  I  have  slain  the  noblest  man 

That  e'er  the  sun  beam'd  on. 
He,  who  in  worth  and  honor's  path 

A  guiding  meteor  shone. 
Oh  could  I  bring  him  back  to  life  ! 

Make  him  breathe  and  speak  again — 
I'd  die  ten  thousand  deaths  and 

Suffer  years  of  woe  and  pain. 
Devil,  why  didst  thou  urge  me  on 

To  deal  the  mortal  blow? 
By  God  and  man  I  now  am  cursed, 

Thou  laughs  at  all  my  woe. 
Could  the  cry  of  lamentation 

Arouse  him  from  his  sleep. 
Would  it  set  his  pulse  abounding 

'Twere  mine  to  wail  and  weep. 
Oh  !  could  1  see  him  start  to  life 

And  walk  once  more  on  earth, 
Ay,  move  as  he  was  ever  wont 

In  light  and  joy  and  mirth. 
Oh  God  !  it  is  an  awful  thing 

To  shed  life's  sacred  stream, 
To  take  the  life  God  has  given — 

What  horror  more  extreme  ? 
Yet  I  have  done  the  demon  act, 

And  did  it  foul  and  fell, 
Done  it  as  reckless  and  as  stern 

As  fiercest  fiend  in  hell. 

VIII. 

Men  say  the  smallest  planets  of 

Creation's  endless  round. 
Are  those  that  nearest  to  the  sun 

Are  ever  to  be  found  ; 
And  that  through  all  revolving  time 

They  cling  round  him  the  while, 


IG  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Rejoicing  in  his  liglit  and  warmth 

And  glowing  in  his  smile. 
So  it  is  with  little  children, 

They  nearer  are  to  God, 
Than  those  who  live  to  sterner  years 

On  earth's  sepulchral  clod. 
And  had  I  died  when  but  a  child, 

A  little  babe  just  born, 
I  ne'er  had  drained  sin's  bitter  cup. 

Nor  worn  a  crown  of  thorn  . 
I'd  known  no  mental  agony. 

Nor  felt  sin's  scourging  rod. 
But  as  I  came  I  had  returned — 

An  angel  to  my  God. 
And  those,  methiuks,  that  God  doth  call 

Unto  an  early  rest, 
Are  those  poor  children  of  this  world 

That  are  most  truly  blest. 
For  some  divine  all  wise  design, 

He  sends  them  here  below 
But  lets  their  mission  cease  on  earth 

Ere  they  have  felt  its  woe. 
As  comets  to  the  sun  return, 

So  back  again  to  Him 
Their  spirits  go,  and  form  His  choir 

Of  purest  Seraphim. 
Holy,  holy,  grand,  harmonious. 

Blissful,  strong,  sublime. 
Around  His  throne,  their  songs  of  praise 

Forever,  ever  chime. 

IX. 

Blow  on  ye  winds  forever  blow 

O'er  forest,  moor  and  main, 
Ay,  and  howl  and  moan  like  demons 

In  everlasting  pain. 
Oh  had  I  wings  to  mount  the  storm  ! 

And  fly  to  some  far  isle. 
That  is  unknown  to  man,  unknown 

To  sun  or  morning'ssmile  ! 
There  dwell  unknown  to  God  and  man 

In  everlasting  gloom ; 
Unsought,  forgot  by  both,  and  shun 

The  murderer's  awful  doom ; 
Oh !  there  I'd  wander  forth  alone 

And  care  not  where  I  go. 
For  the  fierce  storms  that  there  would  moan 

Might  sometimes  drown  my  woe. 
And  on  that  gloomy  isle  afar 

Where  hurleys  ever  roar — 
Soon  'midst  the  storm  should  lie  my  form 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

In  death  to  rise  no  more. 

Without  a  thought,  without  a  wish, 
Without  the  power  to  sigh, 

ITnburied  on  those  savage  moors 
This  perished  heart  should  lie. 

And  with  my  form  my  soul  should  waste- 
Yea  perish  utterly, 

So  that  neither  God  nor  man  should 
E'er  find  a  trace  of  me. 

X. 

Ah  !  wherefore  should  I  longer  live 

Oppress'd  with  woe  and  grief? 
For  no  power  on  earth  could  give 

My  throbbing  pains  relief. 
At  every  weary  step  I  take, 

At  every  move  and  turn, 
My  broken  limb  is  racking  me, 

My  temples  throb  and  burn. 
Oh  God  !  I  do  not  fear  to  die, 

But  oh  !  it  makes  me  rave. 
To  think  T — the  once  proud  and  bold  — 

Must  fill  a  felon's  grave. 
It  chills  the  blood  in  every  vein 

To  think  I — once  renown'd — 
Should  die  a  death  of  infamy, 

While  thousands  gaze  around. 
Ah  yes  !  methinks  I  see  it  now — 

The  gallows  dark  and  high, 
Me  standing  'neath  the  hideous  drop 

A  felon  doom'd  to  die. 
I  feel  the  cord  round  my  neck 

In  atonement  for  my  guilt, 
And  hear  voices  shout,  die  felon 

For  blood  that  thou  has  spilt. 
Ay,  myself  I  now  can  fancy 

Within  their  grasp  and  power, 
Starved  and  chain'd  and  prisoned  down, 

Within  some  dusky  tower  : 
And  asking  God  to  give  me  strength 

To  burst  my  galling  chain 
So  I  might 'gainst  the  gloomy  walls 

Dash  out  my  burning  brain. 
Methinks  I  hear  the  laugh  and  shout — 

And  hear  the  tramp  of  men. 
As  hangmen  come  to  bring  me  forth 

Out  from  the  loathsome  den. 
Ha !  they  should  see  no  fear  in  me 

I'd  walk  with  stalwart  tread 
Upon  the  scaffold,  and  smiling 

Hold  high  my  manly  head. 


18 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

And  this  all  men  should  say  of  me 
When  ceased  my  vital  breath, 

"Though  dark  his  soul  with  sin  and  crime 
'Twas  face  to  face  with  death." 

XI. 

The  time  that  I  was  born,  why  did 

Not  death  that  instant  come — 
With  his  dread  all  whelming  power 

And  smite  me  still  and  dumb  r* 
Why  did  the  earth  not  'neath  me  rend 

And  yawning  take  me  in! 
Since  I  was  born,  alone  for  woe, 

And  heaven  I  ne'er  sh;ill  win  ? 
Hark  !  did  I  dream  ?  or  did  I  hear 

A  voice  speak  to  me  then  ? 
Just  as  that  crash  of  thunder  peal'd 

Throughout  yon  startled  glen  ? 
Methinks  it  said  thou  fool  be  still. 

Why  mutter  o'er  thy  past? 
Cease  madman,  cease  to  howl  and  rave, 

Thy  doom  is  coming  fast. 
It  was  no  dream,  for  now  I  see 

A  form  distinct  and  clear, 
But  'tis  only  a  hell  born  fiend 

That  comes  to  fright  me  here. 
And  since  it  is  a  fiend  that  now 

Commands  me  to  be  still, 
I  will  not  cease,  and  all  me  thoughts 

Shall  wander  as  they  will. 
I  never  fear'd  a  mortal  foe. 

So  shall  not  couch  to  him. 
Though  he  should  rack  me  soul  and  form. 

Or  tear  me  limb  by  limb. 
Hence,  on  your  life  you  mocking  fiend 

And  jeer  no  more  at  me, 
Hence,  fly  to  your  accursed  abode. 

Where  only  devils  be. 
No  shadowy  fiend  from  hell  like  you — 

Hath  strength  or  power  to  harm 
A  mortal  man,  not  half  so  much 

As  a  wasted  cripple's  arm. 
No,  you  are  but  vague  empty  air — 

A  weak  and  feeble  form, 
Driven  from  place  to  place  o'er  earth 

By  every  blast  and  storm. 
'Tis  on  such  dreadful  times  as  these 

At  midnight's  murky  hour — 
The  devil  sends  ye  forth  from  hell; 

Think  you  I  quail  and  cower 
Beneath  your  vile  hideous  stare  ? 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE,  19 

By  heaven  no,  hence,  fly, 
I  am  mortal  man,  and  all  hell 

And  devils  I  defy. 
Though  you  drive  men  onward  to  sin 

At  some  unguarded  time, 
You  mock  them  in  their  hour  of  woe 

And  jeer  them  for  the  crime. 
But  you  this  head  and  arm  I'll  lend 

To  work  your  deeds  no  more. 
Stop,  Ho  !  back,  devils  why  in  droves 

Do  you  now  round  me  pour  ? 
Ho  !  away,  leave  me  here  alone. 

Hark,  how  they  laugh  and  roar. 
See  how  they  dance  around  me  now 

And  hold  up  human  gore. 
Oh  God !  is  it  so  ?  or  do  I  dream  ? 

Or  am  I  going  wild  ? 
Upright  stands  my  hair  and  it  seems 

I  tremble  like  a  child. 
'Sdeath  !  huge  icy  diops  form  fast 

Upon  my  burning  brow, 
A  chill  runs  all  my  marrow  through, 

All  hell  seems  round  me  now. 
Is  it  only  imagination 

That  limns  yon  hnrrid  things? 
Are  they  but  visions  of  the  night 

That  come  on  ftincy's  wings 
To  outcast  sinful  men  like  me  ? 

When  they  are  rack'd  with  woe, 
Ay,  torn  in  body  and  in  mind. 

While  fevers  fiercest  glow  ! 
It  must  be  that,  it  must  be  that, 

At  least  I'll  have  it  so. 
And  though  I  hate  to  view  my  past 

My  thoughts  shall  wander  free, 
God  has  given  to  mortal  man 

A  power  call'd  memory — 
And  with  her  I  will  fearless  back 

And  all  my  life  review. 
Nor  care  if  spectres  come  around 

How  many  or  how  few. 
Adown  the  vista  of  the  past — 

One  sad  lingering  look  I'll  cast — 
Ere  I  sink  into  the  grave, 

For  sure  this  night  will  be  the  last 
That  I  on  earth  shall  rave. 

So  blow  ye  tempests,  howl  and  blow, 
This  night  know  no  control. 

And  peal  ye  awful  thunders  peal, 
And  boom  from  pole  to  pole. 

Be  my  companions  on  this  night — 


20  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

No  human  wretch  is  near, 

And  while  1  mutter  o'er  my  past 
Make  music  to  my  ear. 

XII. 

I  remember,  I  remember. 

Though  it  is  long  ago. 
And  yet  it  seems  but  yesterday 

Time  comes  and  passes  so, 
When  early  on  one  dewy  morn 

With  rifle  and  with  hound, 
To  hunt  and  spend  the  day  in  sport — 

Through  mountain  paths  I  wound. 
For  still  I've  ever  loved  through  life 

To  hunt  o'er  fell  and  moor, 
To  track  unto  his  lair  the  wolf, 

Or  meet  the  foamy  boar. 
The  dangers  of  the  chase  I  loved 

Far  more  than  aught  on  earth, 
It  was  my  nature's  drink  and  food 

Its  glory  and  its  mirth. 
What  joy  to  climb  the  craggy  fells, 

Breathe  in  the  wholesome  air, 
Look  around,  view  those  works  of  God 

So  wondrous,  grand  and  fuir. 
There  was  the  place  indeed  for  man 

To  lift  his  thoughts  to  God, 
See  the  works  of  the  Almighty  Hand 

No  matter  where  he  trod. 
And  oft  upon  some  lofty  fell 

Or  in  some  silent  glen, 
In  those  days  I  worshipped  God  while 

Apart  from  other  men. 
Yea,  like  the  first  of  human  kind 

Upon  the  grassy  sod, 
Alone,  with  meek  and  humble  mind 

I  sent  my  thoughts  to  God. 
Perhaps  propitious  to  my  prayers 

He  ne'er  inclined  His  ear 
But  that  I'll  in  the  future  know 

When  I  at  His  throne  appear. 
I  yet  have  hope  of  mercy  there, 

I'll  trust  Him  for  His  grace, 
'Stead  of  all  wrath  and  gloom,  I  yet 

May  meet  His  smiling  face. 
For  surely  He  who  made  this  world, 

And  those  that  shine  through  space- 
Will  pardon  a  repentant  soul 

Not  cast  it  from  its  race. 

XIII. 

Well,  it  was  on  that  sunny  morn 


THE    PRiESIDICIDE, 

Long,  long  ago,  as  through 
Those  well-known  winding  mountain  paths 

My  eager  footsteps  drew. 
An  aged  hoary  man  I  met 

Beneath  a  cypress  tree, 
Care-worn,  and  sad  his  features  look'd, 

Althouiih  he  smiled  on  me. 
But  age  had  withered  not  his  arm, 

Strong  was  his  aged  form, 
Though  many  years  he  show'd  he'd  braved 

Life's  battle,  toil  and  storm. 
Down  o'er  his  ample  swelling  breast 

His  locks  were  flowing  free, 
And  while  I  gazed  on  him  I  thought 

Of  "Old  Mortality." 
Upon  his  towering,  stately  head 

Nor  hat,  nor  scarf  he  wore, 
And  in  his  hand,  all  ghastly  white 

A  human  skull  he  bore. 
Shortly  1  paused  and  gazed  on  him, — 

At  length  "old  man"  I  said — 
"Wherefore  dost  thou  sit  alone,  whither 

Have  thy  companions  fled? 
Since  they've  all  gone  and  left  thee  here. 

Arise  and  follow  me. 
We'll  chase  the  deer  o'er  hill  and  moor. 

And  happy  we  shall  be. 
For  I  always-  loved  from  a  child 

To  go  with  the  gray  and  old. 
And  oft  to  wend  with  them  I've  left 

The  sprightly,  young  and  bold. 
Left  them  in  the  hour  of  mirth 

The  song  and  dance  and  play, 
So  come  old  man  and  let  us  hunt, 

Together  spend  the  day." 
The  while  I  spake  adown  his  cheek 

A  tear  in  silence  stole, 
He  turn'd  his  head  to  hide  the  drop. 

On  earth  I  saw  it  roll. 
Thoush  since  that  hour  years  have  pass'd 

I  often  think  of  him. 
For  ne'er  before  nor  since  I've  seen 

Such  giant  thews  and  limb. 

XIV. 

"Alas  my  son"  the  old  man  said, 

"I  have  no  friends  on  earth, 
Into  the  grave  all  those  have  gone 

Who  shared  my  bliss  and  mirth. 
They've  gone  and  left  me  here  behind 

A  weary  sad  old  man. 


21 


22  THE    PRiESIDICIDE, 

Pm  left  without  a  friend  or  foe 

The  last  of  all  my  clan, 
There's  not  one  living  in  the  world 

I  knew  when  life  began. 
Hast  thou  ne'er  noticed  one  lone  leaf 

Clinging  to  its  parent  stem  ? 
Swino'ins  with  the  branches  to  and  fro 

When  storms  are  writhing  them, 
Though  all  the  rest  are  scattered  wide 

Across  the  moor  and  lea  ? 
Through  all  winter's  storm  and  shower 
However  rude  it  be — 
Still  clinging  to  its  parent  limb 

That  abandoned  leaf  we  see ; 
And  that  lone  leaf  where  ever  seen 

An  emblem  stands  of  me  ; 
'Tissad  indeed  to  see  all  die 

Thoulovest,  fondest  best, 
To  see  them  drop  off  one  by  one 

To  everlasting  rest. 
And  leave  thee  here,  Tithonus-like, 

Upon  life's  rugged  road, 
Tottering  to  a  long  made  grave 

And  eager  for  that  abode. 
Longing  and  glad  to  follow  them 

And  cast  life's  weary  load. 
Orpheus  like  I  roam  alone. 

Oft  bitter  tears  will  flow, 
And  there's  not  one  in  all  the  world 

To  ask  my  cause  of  woe. 
See'st  thou  this  frail  and  hollow  skull, 

That  looks  so  white  and  beautiful  ? 
And  yet  so  calm  and  cold  ? 

Oh  I  it  is  dearer  far  to  me 
Than  all  earth's  shining  gold. 

Once  in  this  hollow  cavern  dwelt 
A  grand  immortal  soul, 

That  shall  in  glory  live  and  glow 
"When  earth  is  but  a  scroll. 

Whose  each  inipassion'd  thought  and  wish 
Had  honor  for  its  goal. 

A  soul  full  of  poetic  fire — 
And  energy  divine, 

And  of  bright  fancy  and  romance 
A  rich,  exhaustless  mine. 

And  here  was  fair  charity 
And  pure  religion's  shrine. 

These  are  the  lips  whose  melody 
Is  with  me,  round  me  yet, 

These  are  the  lips  whose  sunny  smile 
My  heart  shall  ne'er  forget. 


THE    PR^ESIDICIDE.  23 

These  are  the  lips  whose  kindest  breath 
Was  always  breathed  for  me, 

As  hand  in  hand  we  journeyed  on 
Adown  life's  whirling  sea. 

These  are  the  lips  whose  voice  was  beard 
Like  thunder  o'er  the  world, 

When  freedom  raised  a  cry  of  pain  ; 
His  hand  her  flag  unfurl'd  — 

And  stemm'd  the  tyrants  of  the  earth  ; 
Before  his  gory  path 

They  trembling  flew,  as  sparrows  fly 
The  eagle's  strength  and  wrath. 

Nor  ever  yet  in  peace  or  shine 
Or  rolling  battle  tide — 

Alone  he  stood,  this  stalwart  form 
Was  ever  at  his  side. 

For  we  were  brothers,  and  together 
Into  this  world  we  came, 

And  both  alike  together  grew 
In  spirit  and  in  frame. 

When  years  flew  on,  and  time  forced  down 
His  body  to  the  tomb, 

He  seem'd  all  like  a  giant  still 
In  mind  and  strength  and  bloom. 

When  time  and  storm  had  wash'd  away 
The  marble  and  the  stones — 

And  all  the  mould  that  wrapt  his  clay, 
I  took  his  whiten'd  bones 

From  out  their  lonely  resting  place, 
And  placed  them  in  an  urn  ; 

And  while  I  roam  upon  the  world 
To  earth  they  ne'er  return. 

And  they  shall  go  o'er  earth  with  me 
Be  loved  and  honor'd  still. 

For  while  I  have  them  in  my  arms 
He  seems  those  arms  to  fill. 

Child,  melancholy  looks  thy  brow, 
Does  care  thy  spirit  haunt? 

Does  human  sorrow  blight  and  woe 
Strive  thy  young  soul  to  daunt  ? 

Has  fortune  gone  and  round  thee  cast 
The  murky  fold  of  want  ? 

If  so,  grieve  not,  let  not  vain  care 
Youth's  noble  spirit  tame. 

Mourn  not  thy  fate,  'tis  mortal's  lot, 
And  mine  has  been  the  same. 

My  child  did  ever  woman's  charms 
Thy  youthful  soul  beguile  ? 

Say,  did  she  ever  conquer  thee 
With  all  her  sex's  wile  ? 

Didst  thou  e'er  feel  o'er  come  and  lost 


24 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Beneath  her  subtle  smile  ? 

And  did  she  make  thee  think  her  heart 
Was  wholely  thine  the  .while  ? 

Didst  love  the  very  air  she  breathed 
And  ground  on  which  she  trod  ? 

Yea,  didst  thou  1  ve  and  worshin  her 
As  thou  shouldst  only  God  ? 

When  she  had  won  thy  trusting  heart 
Did  she  ungrateful  prove  ? 

And  cast  thee  cruelly  aside 
With  blighted  hope  and  love  ? 

Ay,  leave  thee  for  another's  love 
Not  half  so  warm  as  thine  ? 

After  lifting  all  thy  hopes  so  high — 
Leave  thee  alone  to  pine? 

If  that's  been  thy  lot,  grieve  thou  not, 
Thy  fate  resembles  mine. 

Cast  her  forever  from  thy  thoughts, 
Why  shouldst  thou  mourn  for  her  '/ 

Turn  to  her,  who  will  leave  thee  not, — 
Be  thou  Wisdom's  worshipper. 

She,  Goddess  with  the  eye  of  light, 
More  bright  than  sun  or  star, 

And  brow  serener  than  the  moon 
Throned  in  heaven  afar. 

And  more  grand  and  fair  than  summer 
With  all  its  sweetest  smiles. 

When  with  heavenly  charms  it  bursts 
O'er  Oriental  isles. 

Fairer  than  richest  summer  morns 
Draped  in  all  their  light  and  bloom, 

Where  shines  that  brow  are  light  and  bliss- 
Where  it  is  not,  all  is  gloom. 

Her  face  is  fairer  than  Aurora 
Issuing  from  her  caves, 

And  her  form  is  fairer  than  Venus 
Emerging  from  the  waves  ; 

Fairer  than  the  bow  of  heaven 
When  storms  are  darkling  round. 

Radiant  as  the  priceless  gem 
'Midst  Ganges'waters  found. 

With  halo  of  eternal  flame — 
Fill'd  with  light  and  purity — 

She  shines  upon  her  blazing  throne 
With  her  sister  Memory. 

Her  words  are  sweeter  than  the  streams 
That  flow  fr  im  heaven's  springs. 

Purer  than  the  golden  drops  of  dew 
That  fall  from  seraph's  wings — 

When  on  radiant  sabbath  morns 
Around  the  throne  on  high— 


THE    PR^SIDIClf)E.  -      25 

Their  plumage  quivers  with  delight 
Before  God's  piercing  eye. 

Her  words  are  everlasting  gems 
That  glorify  man's  soul, 

They're  as  the  diamond  grains  of  sand 
That  from  God's  chariot  roll. 

They  are  a  fount  of  excellence 
For  ever  flowing  on, 

Crowning  hoary  heads  with  lustre, 
Making  grand  each  one. 

They  win  the  youth  who  seeks  for  them 
Bright  glory  and  renown, 

And  place  upon  his  youthful  brows 
Their  everlasting  crown. 

They're  afount  of  holy  essence, 
True  source  of  joy  and  health. 

The  rampart  of  man's  sturdy  strength, 
His  glory  and  his  wealth. 

They're  sparks  of  eternity,  flashing 
From  the  windows  of  the  skies, 

Full  of  sanctity  as  the  fumes 
That  from  hallow'd  incense  rise. 

Yea,  breaths  of  immortality 
Crowning,  blessing  man's  lips, 

And  giving  them  a  majesty 
Death,  woe,  nor  time  eclipse. 

They're  chains  of  living  gems,  which 
Truth  and  Memory  hold, 

Bright  as  the  rays  'neath  seraph's  wings 
'Midst  heaven's  suns  unroll'd. 

More  precious  are  her  words  than  all 
The  rubies  of  the  worla, 

Than  all  the  sparkling  gems  that  down 
By  Goual's  floods  are  hurl'd. 

More  worth  than  all  the  opals  that 
In  Ophir's  mountains  glow, 

More  worth  than  all  the  shining  pearls 
That  all  the  seas  can  show. 

Strive  thou  for  her,  both  day  and  night, 
And  do  no  other  seek, 

She  will  give  lustre  to  thine  eye, 
And  health  unto  thy  cheek. 

Strength  she  will  give  unto  thy  form. 
And  nerve  and  brace  thine  arm, 

When  thou  'rt  tossed  'midst  passion's  storm. 
She'll  keep  thee  from  all  harm. 

XV. 

''Go  walk  with  god-like  Plato  through 

Fair  Acedemus'  grove ; 
"With  Aristotle,  with  Xenophon, 


26  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

And  •with  Seneca  rove. 
Go  thou  and  sit  with  Socrates 

Within  his  prison  cell, 
And  hear  the  wisest  of  mankind 

His  truths  eternal,  tell. 
Ay,  talk  with  Athens'  noblest  son, 

And  tread  the  path  he  trod, 
Who  lived  in  form  and  soul  a  man 

The  image  of  his  God. 
And  on  the  page  of  Cicero 

Both  truth  and  wisdom  learn. 
And  Homer  read  until  thy  soul 

With  martial  deeds  shall  burn. 
Go,  walk  through  every  path  of  life 

The  same  as  Shakespeare  trod, 
And  with  eternal  Milton  soar 

Unto  the  throne  of  God. 
Study  the  lives  of  men  like  these  ; 

The  mighty  works  they  wrought, 
Learn  and  study  them  day  and  night, 

Drink  in  each  noble  thought — 
Until  thy  very  inmost  soul 

With  equal  ones  is  fraught. 
For  they  have  been,  and  still  shall  be 

The  glory  of  all  time, 
Be  honor' d  and  revered  for  aye 

In  every  age  and  clime. 
Their  frame  shall  blaze  as  noon-day  suns 

In  everlasting  prime, 
Like  hoary  Alps  they'll  ever  stand 

Firm,  solemn  and  sublime 
Around  no  bleeding  captive  slaves 

The  clanking  chains  they  bind, 
But  everlasting  links  they  tie 

Around  the  human  mind. 
They  raise  the  dark  and  grovelling  soul 

To  grand  and  n  ble  things, 
Waft  it  to  virtue's  realm,  refined 

As  though  on  angel's  wings. 
Learn,  and  be  no  whiten'd  sepulchre 

All  rottenness  within. 
Lest  God  should  cast  thy  soul  away 

For  infamy  and  sin 
Shun  Atheist,  Idolater, 

And  only  worship  God, 
Fear  only  Him,  and  humble  bow 

Beneath  His  chastening  rod. 
Know  he  who  follows  God's  commands. 

To  Him  his  spirit  weds, 
Is  loved  and  honor'd  through  all  time, 

And  wisdom's  pathway  treads. 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  27 

And  he  who  is  a  foe  to  God 

Is  to  the  world  a  ban, 
He  ne'er  can  act  a  manly  part, 

Or  be  true  friend  to  man. 

XVI. 

'Tis  strange  indeed  such  thoughts  as  these 

Should  come  to  haunt  me  now. 
Should  fill  the  mind  of  one  who  did 

The  darkest  deed  I  trow — 
That  ever  yet  was  plann'd  or  done 

By  any  mortal  man, 
Since  Sol  his  beams  o'er  darkness  roll'd 

And  earth  and  sea  began. 
Yes,  I  who  like  a  coward  crept — 

A  coward  vile  and  mean — 
Behind  an  unarm'd,  fenceless  man 

Unheard,  unknown,  unseen — 
And  slew  him  there,  oh  murder  foul ! 

The  fellest,  basest  kind, 
Dark  as  if  I'd  slain  a  cripple 

Who  was  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind. 
Oh  cruel  and  hard  hearted  beast ! 

0  dark  in  mind  and  soul! 
There  is  no  fiercer  fiend  than  I 

Within  all  hell's  control. 
O  memory  !  oh  memory  ! 

Why  this  dabbling  with  the  past  ? 
Oh  God  !  my  brain  goes  spinning  round 

As  a  windmill  in  the  blast. 
Oh  lost !  forever  lost  to  all 

T  once  held  fond  and  dear. 
There's  not  a  friend  'mongst  all  I  had 

Now  dares  to  venture  near. 
Friend  did  I  say  ?  not  one  have  I, 

Not  e'en  the  vile  and  low — 
Who  help'd  me  plan  and  scheme  the  way 

To  deal  the  mortal  blow — 
That  slew  the  noblest  in  the  land, 

And  turn'd  its  joy  to  woe. 
Ay,  they  would  fly  and  shun  me — 

No  matter  where  I  go. 
For  there's  an  instinct  felons  have 

However  steep'd  in  crime — 
Though  they  together  murder  plan 

And  fix  the  awful  time, 
Yet  he  whose  heart  is  bard  enough — 

And  he  whose  nerve  is  strong — 
And  takes  on  him  the  hellish  task — 

The  deed  of  blood  and  wrong — 
Though  they  applaud  him  long  and  loud-— 


28  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

And  hail  him  dauntless  man — 
And  swear  a  bolder  never  faced 

The  horrid'battle  van, 
Yet  when  the  hellish  deed  is  done. — 

When  he  has  shed  the  gore — 
That  instinct  makes  them  fly  from  him, 

And  shun  him  ever  more. 
With  horror  they  recoil  from  him, 

And  tremble  at  his  name, 
As  men  start  from  the  anaconda's 

Jaws  of  fiery  flame, 
And  none  need  e'er  be  fools  so  blind 

To  trust  the  faith  of  men — 
Who  are  so  foul  to  murder  plan, 

No  matter  where  or  when. 
No  quaking  moss  is  less  secure, 

More  treacherous,  untrue, 
No  huntsman  more  fell  danger  runs, 

Who  treads  the  ice  'neath  thawing  suns, 
And  unawares  goes  through. 

No  matter  what  their  rank  or  power — 
How  high  they  stand  at  that  dread  hour — 

Or  what  their  wealth  or  fame, 
When  once  the  hellish  deed  is  done 

They'll  take  no  share  of  blame. 
Like  shadows  will  they  glide  away, 

Nor  lend  a  helping  hand 
To  free  him  from  the  law,  alone 

He  must  for  all  the  crime  atone, 
And  all  the  charge  must  stand. 

And  if  by  chance  the  law  should  find 
The  others  in  the  plot — 

They'll  all  combine  and  falsely  swear, 
Seem  to  prove  innocence  so  clear — 

They  mostly  sufi"er  not. 
On  he  who  dared  to  strike  the  blow 

At  their  appointed  time, 
They  throw  the  blame  and  brand  of  all, 

He  bears  the  heinous  crime. 

XVII. 

I'd  sooner  trust  the  leaky  bark 

To  bear  me  safe  to  land — 
At  midnight  on  tbe  ocean  dark — 

When  storms  are  blowing  loud  and  stark. 
Waves  sweep  towards  rocky  strand. 

Ay,  sooner  trust  the  tossing  seas 
In  a  wreck  'midst  the  fellest  breeze, 

That  ever  yet  did  pour, 
Than  trust  to  any  men  like  these, 

No  matter  how  they  swore 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  29 

To  guard  and  sliield  me  from  all  harm — 

When  perils  round  me  rolTd ; 
Them  my  arm  or  ear  I'd  lend  no  more 

For  all  earth's  shining  gold. 
They  leave  their  champion  and  tool 

To  suffer  mourn  and  rue, 
And  keep,  and  reap  all  benefits — 

If  any  shall  accrue. 

XVIII. 

I've  heard  strange  tales  in  early  years — 

But  never  held  them  true, 
Aye,  thought  them  idle  foolish  talk 

Amongst  some  aged  few, 
'Bout  spirits — who  in  forms  of  men 

Wander  through  this  earth — 
Who  often  come  to  visit  men 

In  times  of  joy  and  mirth; 
And  talk  with  them  as  man  with  man 

And  seem  as  man  to  them, 
Who  strive  to  warn  them  'gainst  the  paths 

The  godly  should  contemn, 
Ay,  warn  them  in  a  quiet  way 

Against  the  paths  of  sin, 
And  bid  them  strive  above  all  things 

The  love  of  God  to  win. 
And  now  methinks  that  strange  old  man 

I  met  beneath  the  tree, 
Was  of  that  mysterious  kind 

So  strange  he  looked  on  me. 
I  thought  not  then,  but  have  so  since 

He  was  no  mortal  man, 
For  none  but  him  I've  ever  seen 

Since  first  my  life  began — 
Who  looked  so  noble  and  so  grand, 

So  lofty  abd  serene. 
So  king-like  above  all  other  men 

In  action  and  in  mien. 
And  all  the  while  he  spake  his  eyes 

Were  resting  full  on  me, 
Blue  as  the  azure  skies  were  they 

And  full  of  brilliancy. 
Plainly  as  on  that  sunny  morn 

Methinks  I  see  him  now, 
As  thus  he  spake  to  me,  his  hand 

Upon  the  skulPs  smooth  brow. 

XIX. 

"Thou  heir  of  immortality, 

And  to  a  home  in  heaven, 
Why  wouldst  thou  waste  in  sloth  and  ease, 

Perchance  in  foul  debaucheries — 


30  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Powers  thy  God  has  given  ! 

Or  loan'd  to  thee  His  child  on  earth  ! 
"Wherefore  waste  thy  precious  time 

In  folly's  bower  I  for  folly 
Ever  leadeth  unto  crime. 

Does  thy  spirit  soar  no  higher 
Than  grovelling  joys  of  earth? 

Pleasures  that  waste  and  die  away 
The  moment  of  their  birth  ! 

And  are  not  worth  a  thought  from  man — 
Weak,  sinful  though  he  be, 

Child,  young  and  foolish  as  thou  art — 
I've  better  thoughts  of  thee. 

Be  not  like  him  of  old  who  hid 
His  talent  in  the  earthy 

Improve  those,  God  has  given  thee, 
And  give  to  others  birth. 

XX. 

"Thou  heir  of  immortality, 

And  of  a  blissful  world. 
From  whence  all  death  and  woe  are  far 

Away  forever  hurl'd. 
Where  saints  and  seraphs  soar  through  light 

On  dazzling  wing  unfurl'd, 
Where  ever  round  the  throne  of  God 

In  sunny  glory  rolls — 
A  ceaseless,  countless,  sainted  throng 

Of  everlasting  souls, 
Can  man  with  all  his  boasted  might 

One  grain  of  matter  make? 
Can  he  enlarge  the  earth  one  grain  ? 

Or  its  foundations  shake  ? 
The  leaf  that  trembles  on  the  tree — 

And  laughs  unto  the  storm  — 
Could  all  the  energies  of  man 

A  leaflet  like  it  form  ? 
These  bones  I  hold  that  once  were  in 

A  mighty  human  arm — 
That  snapped  the  tyrant's  chain  as  heroes 

Burst  a  wizard's  charm, 
Are  as  far  beyond  the  power 

Of  man  to  make  or  form, 
As  for  him  to  lift  the  huge  round  world 

Or  stop  the  roaring  storm — 
The  earth,  the  leaf,  the  bones,  the  storm, 

The  grass  upon  the  sod, 
Are  all  the  grand  high  handy  work 

Of  the  eternal  God 
Who  time  created,  say  can  man 

Take  from  the  rolling  year — 
Or  add  to  it  a  moment's  time  ? 


THE    PR^SIDICLDE.  31 

Or  Stop  ite  swift  career  ? 
And  yet  how  many  lives  of  men 

In  idleness  and  sloth — 
Forever  waste  and  glide  away  ; 

I  would  indeed  be  loath 
To  waste  an  hour  here,  I  know 

It  is  an  awful  crime — 
That  God  will  sorely  punish  those 

Who  waste  their  earthly  time. 
So  be  thou  up  and  doing,  thy  brain 

As  well  as  body  feed, 
Earth  is  full  of  things  for  man  to  learn, 

And  those  who  run  may  read. 
Yea,  earth  is  full  of  marvels  strange, 

Grand  study  for  all  men, 
Those  who  strive  to  fathom  them,  God 

Will  shape  them  to  their  ken. 
Lo  I  shells  are  vast  on  ocean's  coast ; 

And  every  shape  and  hue, 
Some  round,  some  long,  some  large,  some  small, 

Some  purple,  red  and  blue. 
Yet  'mongst  them  all  but  one  was  found, 

Yea.  only  one  possessed 
The  pearl  that  swelled  the  merchant's  store. 

And  glows  on  beauty's  breast. 
Treasures  are  many  in  the  earth, 

But  not  in  every  soil. 
To  seek  for  gold  in  every  mould 

Would  be  a  fruitless  toil. 
Energy,  courage,  self-control, 

True  godliness  of  mind  and  soul, 
Must  be  by  him  possessed — 

Who  would  from  wisdom's  mine  bring  forth 
One  gem  of  such  a  priceless  worth 

That  it  shall  aye  be  blessed. 
By  trials  and  delays  his  soul 

Mujst  ne'er  be  downward  borne, 
The  gourd  that  in  a  night  appeared 

Lay  dead  on  earth  at  morn. 
Yon  mountain  oak  whose  sturdy  strength 

A  thousand  tempests  proved, 
Nor  yet  the  livid  lightning's  bolt 

Ncr  avalanche  hath  moved. 
That  stands  like  some  bold  sentinel 

To  guard  its  native  clime, 
And  heeds  no  change  as  years  sweep  down 

The  avenue  of  time, 
Around  it  on  its  parent  soil 

Ere  it  attained  its  prime 
Ten  thousand  thousand  poisons  grew, 

Crowned  with  blossoms  of  every  hue, 


THE    PRyESIDICIDE. 

And  rotted  down  like  crime. 
XXI. 

"I  told  thee  that  matter  could  not 

Be  made  by  mortal  man, 
To  make  one  grain  of  it  was  far 

Beyond  his  wisdom's  span. 
And  now  I  say,  that  man  cannot 

Destroy  one  atom  here, 
Let  him  pluck  yon  leaf  from  its  stem. 

And  it  to  atoms  tear. 
Mash,  pound  it  up,  then  pass  it  through 

The  furnace  and  the  blast, 
Roll,  mash  the  cinders  in  a  bowl. 

And  in  the  acids  cast. 
Let  it  pass  through  fiery  blast 

And  mash  it  as  he  will, 
Though  he  may  change  it  to  the  eye 

It  is  but  matter  still. 
And  there's  no  atom  on  the  world 

However  frail  and  sear — 
That  man  can  utterly  destroy — 

The  ruins  still  appear. 
Nor  can  he  banish  them  from  earth, 

As  easy  'twere  for  him — 
To  drag  a  comet  from  the  sky, 

Or  its  pure  brightness  dim. 
Hark  !  didst  thou  hear  that  cannon  roar  ? 

Its  sound  rung  in  my  ear 
A  moment's  space,  and  now  'tis  gone. 

Though  it  I  no  more  hear, 
The  sound  is  not  destroyed  on  earth, 

As  sound'tisonward  hurl'd, 
And  'twill  ring  till  the  end  of  time, 

And  vibrate  o'er  the  world. 
The  souad  of  my  voice,  or  the  wave 

That  bursts  upon  the  shore — 
May  die  to  us,  but  do  not  die, 

'Tis  sound  forever  more. 
The  smallest  thing  that  crawls  on  earth 

Displays  the  fearful  skill — 
Of  Him  who  made  and  fashion'd  it 

To  please  His  holy  will. 
So  how  dare  mortal  man  stand  forth 

In  eye  of  earth  and  sky, 
And  say  there  is  no  God,  hark  !  hark  ! 

From  mountains  vast  and  high, 
From  leaf,  and  tree  and  storm,  and  sea 

From  sun,  and  starry  skies, 
A  strong  all  pervading  voice  is  heard — 

Like  burst  of  hoarded  thunders  is  each  word- 


THE    PR.ESIDICIDE.  33 

* 

And  tells  him,  that  he  lies. 

Through  all  creation's  endless  round 
The  might  of  God  is  shown, 

He  made,  and  nought  can  be  destroy'd 
But  save  by  Him  alone. 

And  e'en  this  world  on  which  we  move 
That  looks  so  grand  and  vast, 

That  is  a  rooky  ci'ust  around 
Ilusi-e  seas  of  fire  cast. 

For  men  say,  if  forty  miles  we  go — 
Down  through  the  crust  we  pass, 

And  there  find  all  the  world  within 
A  moHen  seethii)g  mass. 

The  volcanos  that  to  heaven 
Their  flames  and  ashes  throw, 

Are  but  the  lofty  chimneys  of 
Those  burning  wastes  below. 

Through  them  the  roaring  lava  flies 
In  columns  tall  and  fleet, 

\Vhen  the  world  within  becomes  surcharged 
With  matter  and  with  heat. 

And  if  God  but  free'd  the  atmosphere 
That  doth  surround  this  globe 

For  five  and  forty  miles  in  width, 
(A  pure  blight  azure  robe) 

Of  all  elements  save  oxygen, 
No  nitrogen  leave  there — 

Huge  earth  would  flash  to  flame  and  in 
A  moment  disappear. 

Yea,  Uaze  and  unto  nothing  go, 
Be  utterly  destroy'd, 

Withf  ut  one  mere  slight  atom  left 
Within  the  boundless  void. 

Such  is  the  might  of  Him  to  whom 
Nature  wafts  a  ceaseless  hymn. 

He  all  created  with  a  breath, 
And  all  nature  bows  to  Him. 

XXII. 

''Inhabitant  of  earth,  go  learn 

Thy  gracious  maker's  ways. 
Go,  look  upon  His  mighty  works 

With  wonder  and  with  praise. 
Go  at  midnight's  solemn  hour, 

And  gaze  on  heaven's  face. 
And  look  upon  the  countless  stars 

That  glitter  through  all  space 
Each  a  world  larger  far  than  this 

And  fill'd  with  living  souls. 
Ever  teeming  with  light  and  life 

As  on  through  space  it  rolls. 


34  THE    FR^SIDICIDE. 

Long  through  the  flight  of  ages  past 

Men  deem'd  those  brilliant  spheres — 
But  torches  lit  along  the  sky, 

To  cheer  this  ■world  of  theirs. 
Only  little  petty  candles 

It  pleased  the  gods  to  light, 
So  fair  this  world  might  seem  to  man 

Through  the  hours  of  night. 
But  science  has  reveal'd  to  him 

What  Xenophanes  taught — 
Was  but  man's  pride  and  ignorance, 

Without  one  truthful  thought. 
And  now  he  knows  each  is  a  world 

Far  larger  than  his  own, 
And  far  more  bright  and  glorious 

Than  mortal  yet  hath  known. 
And  this  low  world  on  which  he  moves. 

And  loves  with  all  his  heart, 
Is  a  scarcely  visible  speck 

On  creation's  mighty  chart. 
Science  shall  yet  unfold  to  him 

Truths  mighty  and  sublime. 
Truths  that  shall  never  fade  away 

From  ofi"  the  sands  of  time. 
All  experience  is  an  arch 

Through  which  gleams  that  untrod  land, 
Whose  marge  forever  fades,  and  fades — 

Thouirh  we  climb  to  knowledge  grand. 
Man's  mind  to  egotism  tends 

All  through  dark  ignorance, 
^nd  the  less  and  less  he  knows 

Greater  is  his  arrogance. 
He  thinks  he  has  unravel'd  all 

Mysteries  of  the  world, 
Yet  by  science  each  day  he  sees 

New  truths  from  darkness  hurl'd. 
And  all  the  truths  he  knows  as  yet 

However  great  they  be, 
Are  but  small  drops  of  water  from 

A  rich  exhaustless  sea. 
He  knows  not  yet  with  all  the  light 

That  science  has  reveal'd — 
Half  the  healing  virtues  that  are  in 

The  grasses  of  the  field. 
Nor  half  the  glorious  virtues 

The  trees  and  flowers  yield. 
Chemistry  shall  extract  from  them 

Balms  for  all  earthly  pain, 
For  every  fell  dis'^ase  that  racks 

And  goads  the  human  strain  : 
'Tis  through  long  patience  and  through  toil 


THE    PR.'ESIDICIDE.  35 

Man  will  this  knowledge  gain, 
Wlio  fathoms  hidden  truths  must  work 

With  willing  heart  and  brain. 
Yon  field  that  waves  with  golden  corn 

Was  once  a  waste  of  oaks, 
And  were  a  gloomy  jungle  still 

But  for  the  axe-man's  strokes. 
Those  in  this  world's  dark  battle  field, 

And  bivouac  of  life, 
Would  not  be  like  dumb  beasts  toled  forth, 

But  heroes  in  the  strife^ — 
Must  be  ever  up  and  doing — 

With  hearts  for  any  fate, 
"For  ever  moving  on  and  on, 

Nor  ever  pause  nor  wait 
As  slothful  grovelling  spirits  do 

For  hint,  and  sign,  and  nod, 
But  aye  hark  unto  the  voice 

Of  an  onward,  urging  God. 
Those  who  start  for  human  glory. 

For  honor  and  renown, 
Must  aye  make,  not  wait  for  chances. 

Nor  quake  at  fortune's  frown 
And  aye  keep  foremost  in  their  soul 

This  truth,  no  cross,  no  crown. 
They  must  snatch  from  Victory's  hand 

The  laurels  when  she's  slow, 
Or  hesitating  where  and  when 

Those  laurels  to  bestow. 
If  a  knot  be  tied  so  hard,  they  can't 

Unravel  or  undo — 
Like  Alexander  of  old  time 

They'll  cut  the  knot  in  two. 
Like  the  mettled  hounds  of  Actjen 

They  must  pursue  the  game — 
Not  only  where  are  beaten  paths — 

But  through  thorns,  and  flood,  and  flame. 
Some  there  are  whose  powers  of  mind 

And  energies  of  soul — 
Alone  through  vast  difiiculties 

Develop  and  unroll. 
The  gold  of  their  character  is  mixed 

'Midst  quartz  and  granite  vast, — 
Such  an  incorrigible  growth — 

Which  to  release  requires  both 
The  hammer  and  the  blast. 

Like  that  small  oceanic  marvel 
Whose  phosphorescent  glow — 

Is  only  seen  and  cast  at  dark 
Upon  the  floods  below — 

When  they  are  lashed  and  driven  by 


36  THE    PRiESIDICIDE. 

The  fury  of  the  storm  ; 

Ay,  when  the  blast  and  hurricane 
Their  tranquil  state  deform. 

Oft  men  have  after  knowledge  sought 
"While  paths  of  woe  they  trod, 

While  penury  and  want  hung  o'er  them 
Like  Timour's  scourging  rod. 

But  who  forsook  her  wholesome  laws 
When  smiling  Fortune  came, 

Sunk  on  a  level  with  the  brutes 
'Midst  mirth,  and  folly's  train. 

Like  ships  that  safely  ride  the  waves 
Through  all  the  tempests  shock, 

That  loose  their  helms  when  seas  are  calm 
And  split  upon  a  rock. 

Had  Lais  lured  Xenocrates 
To  her  voluptuous  bed — 

He'd  been  baser  than  Demosthenes 
When  he  Choeroner  fled. 

"But  Chalcedon's  old  sage  stood  charms 
Of  woman  and  of  gold — 

As  firmly  as  the  rock  the  waves 
That  round  it  roar'd  and  roll'd. 

He  stood  sublime  in  retitude 
What  e'er  his  trials  were, 

To  guide  mankind  on  virtue's  path 
Was  all  his  thought  and  care. 

Be  thou  like  him,  where'er  thou  roamst, 
Where'er  thy  feeling  flow — 

Be  man  and  brother  to  the  end — 
Compassionate  the  low. 

What  mercies  God  has  shown  to  thee 
Do  thou  to  others  show, 

Hide  follies  of  thy  fellow  men 
And  pity  all  their  woe. 

And  envy  no  man's  earthly  weal, 
For  it  no  hate  bestow, 

But  let  thy  heart  with  love  and  zeal 
For  other's  welfare  glow. 

Be  brave  as  was  Bellerophon 
When  'midst  fell  dangers  tried^ 
Bravely  perils  meet  like  him 
Though  they  hem  thee  far  and  wide, 

But  be  not  haughty,  proud,  like  him. 
Lest  God  hurl  e  own  thy  pride. 

XXIIL 

"Behold,  the  sun  is  sinking  fast 
Behind  yon  mountain  grand, 

But  he  is  only  leaving  us 
To  light  some  other  land. 


THE    PRiESIDICID'E.  37 

And  I  too  now  must  leave  thee  here 

For  weary  thou  must  be, 
Since  I  have  keep  thee  here  so  long 

To  listen  unto  me. 
But  where  I  go  thou  canst  not  know 

Perchance  thou  dost  not  care, 
Perchance  thou  thinks,  thou  ne'er  hast  spent 

A  day  like  this  so  drear. 
Unless  thy  mind  is  dull  and  slow 

As  Arar's  sluggish  stream, 
Thou  yet  may'st  live  to  see  the  time 

Thou  wouldst  my  voice  esteem. 
Farewell,  we  two  shall  meet  no  more 

Beneath  yon  rolling  sun, 
No  more  on  this  earth  our  paths 

Shall  e'er  together  run. 
But  when  alone  thou  art,  away 

From  mirth  and  folly's  smile — 
Then  give  a  thought  to  this  old  man 

Who  would  thy  soul  beguile 
From  sin  to  virtue's  hallow'd  bower, 

Think  of  me  a  little  while  ! 
Farewell,  I  will  not  keep  thee  more, — 

Though  I  could  tell  thee  things — 
That  would  set  all  thy  soul  aglow 

With  grand  imaginings, 
But  though  we  meet  no  more  on  earth, 

Perchance  in  some  bright  sphere — 
Wc  journeying  may  meet  again. 

Afar  from  earthly  care. 
Then  we'll  look  down  on  earth  our 

Mortal  burial  ground. 
And  smile  at  all  the  woes  that  did 

Once  our  life  surround. 
For  there's  a  cherished  ancient  creed 

That  in  some  solemn  clime — 
Away  from  sin,  and  death,  and  woe, 

And  from  the  grasp  of  time, 
Soul  and  body  shall  unite  again 

In  everlasting  prime. 
And  we'll  meet  and  know  each  other 

Within  that  realm  sublime. 
And  1  trust  when  I'm  call'd  away 

Unto  that  hallow'd  shore — 
Again  to  view  those  loved  ones  smiles 

I  see  on  earth  no  more. 
And  there  forever  with  them  dwell 

Free  from  all  taint  of  woe, 
Fill'd  with  eternal  spotless  love 

Nigh  ready  to  o'erflow. 
And  hard  methinks  would  be  man's  fate 


38  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Unless  he  finds  it  so, 
And  as  the  alchemists  of  yore 

Unto  the  flames  consigned — 
The  heterogeneous  ore 

To  make  the  gold  refined, 
So  with  sorrow,  toil  and  triuls 

While  in  this  world  of  sin, 
God  purifies  man's  soul  of  dross 

So  it  his  smile  may  win. 
And  what's  a  few  short  days  of  grief 

Here  in  this  world  below  ? 
Compared  to  everlasting  bliss 

All  mortals  yet  shall  know. 
They're  not  worth  a  thought  and  man's  a  fool 

To  growl  and  grumble  so, 
His  heart  to  God  so  good  and  kind 

Should  ever  thankful  glow. 
High  on  some  glowing  sphere  we'll  sit 

And  hear  the  solemn  shock, 
Loud  as  the  hoarded  thunder  peals 

That  burst  o'er  Sinai's  rock — 
When  God  in  awful  greatness  came  — 

And  with  such  glory  shone — 
That  not  a  mortal  eye  could  look 

That  blazing  mount  upon  ; 
And  see  this  world  to  atoms  torn — 

And  roU'd  in  floods  of  fire, 
And  'midst  the  crashing  elements 

Here  the  Almighty's  ire. 
See  it  in  His  eternal  hand 

While  fire  roars  and  glows — 
Crush'd  as  a  little  grain  of  sand, 

And  hear  its  dying  throes. 
While  all  the  startled  worlds  on  high 

Shall  trembling  look  below. 
Shouting  hosannas  unto  God — 

To  whom  all  praise  must  flow. 
Oh  !  what  a  storm  of  prayer  and  praise 

Shall  be  that  day  begun, 
And  never  cease,  but  ever  flow 

To  the  Eternal  One. 
From  all  the  myriad,  myriad  worlds 

That  live  in  boundless  space. 
And  all  the  white  wing'd  sainted  souls 

Of  every  clime  and  race. 
Keep  thine  eye  on  yon  setting  sun. 

Move  not  thy  gaze  fnnu  him, 
Until  he  sinks  behind  the  hills, 

Though  he  make  thy  vision  dim — 
His  rays  are  nothing  to  the  blaze 

Thine  eye  shall  yet  behold — 


THE    PRiESIDICIDE.  39 

When  heaven's  eternal  splendors 
Shall  be  afore  thee  roli'd" 

XXIV. 

I  look'd  'till  'neath  the  hills  the  sun 

In  all  his  glory  went, 
And  far  along  the  startled  sky 

His  glowing  lustres  sent. 
Seldom  I've  seen  so  sweet  an  eve, 

Balmy  winds  were  piping  shrill, 
And  rapidly  the  waters  ran 

Down  the  gorges  of  the  hill. 
Everything  was  bright  and  fair 

And  glowing  to  the  eye, 
All  nature  was  baskins;  there 

Beneath  the  sunset  dye. 
But  little  time  had  I  to  gaze 

Upon  the  scene  around, 
Or  mark  the  bright  effulgent  blaze 

With  which  the  sky  was  crown'd. 
For  suddenly  a  flood  of  song 

Came  bursting  on  mine  ears, 
Sweet,  and  soft,  and  grand  as  music 

From  the  eternal  spheres. 
Far  away  in  a  vale  below 

The  music  seem'd  to  be, 
"Let's  go,  let's  go,"  I  said  "and  that 

Enchanting  singer  see." 
But  no  word  in  answer  came, 

Nor  word,  nor  sound,  nor  tone, 
Around  in  haste  I  turn'd  and  look'd 

And  found  I  was  alone. 
That  mysterious  man  had  gone 

Whither,  and  when,  I  knew  notj 
Unheard,  unseen  he'd  moved  away 

As  a  phantom  from  the  spot. 
Well  I  remember  how  my  brain  reel'd 

When  I  found  it  so, 
It  seem'd  the  blood  within  my  veins 

That  moment  ceased  to  flow. 
Up  and  down  every  winding  gorge 

My  eager  eyes  I  bent, 
Viewed  all  the  landscape  o'er  and  o'er 

In  fear  and  wonderment. 
Not  one  trace  of  him  I  saw, 

Then  did  fear  my  soul  appall, 
For  evenings  mirky  mantle 

O'er  the  hills  began  to  fall. 
Down,  down  the  craggy  fells  I  rush'd. 

Paused  not  for  flood  or  linn, 
Panting,  throbbing  with  mortal  fear 


40  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

I  strove  tLe  vale  to  win — 
"Whence  came  those  melting  tones  of  song, 

The  sweetest  ever  yet 
Where  heard  since  earth  and  sea  began, 

Or  Light  and  Darkness  met. 

XXY. 

I  reach'd  the  vale  and  then  I  saw 

A  maiden  heavenly  fair, 
Dark  were  her  eyes  and  sheen  as  stars, 

And  dtrk  her  flowing  hair. 
Ne'er  before  so  grand  a  being 

Upon  this  world  has  trod, 
Oh  !  glorious  and  bright  was  she 

As  spirit  fresh  from  God. 
Her  brow  was  fair  as  ocean's  foam 

When  heaving  in  its  pride, 
Her  cheeks  were  as  the  northern  snows 

When  with  a  sunset  dyed. 
Adown  her  heaving  breast  of  snow 

Her  raven  tresses  stream'd. 
And  'tween  her  rosy  lips  her  teeth 

As  purest  ivory  gleam'd. 
Her  step  was  soft  and  easy 

As  the  murmur  of  a  song, 
Light  as  Flora's  when  she  moves 

Her  choicest  flowers  among. 
But  how  could  mortal  words  essay 

One  half  her  charms  to  paint, 
She  queen  o'er  all  in  loveliness, 

In  purity  a  saint. 
She  pure  and  bright  as  any  yet 

Who  breathed  a  prayer  to  God, 
Sweet,  kind  and  generous  as  e'er 

This  world  of  woe  have  trod. 
Gentle,  candid  and  serene  was  she — 

And  knew  no  craft  nor  guile, 
A  maiden  with  a  seraph's  heart, 

And  with  an  angel's  smile. 
Oh  I  years  had  flown  on  lightning  wings 

Since  last  I  dared  to  speak  — 
Or  breathe  one  word  to  her,  although 

She  was  as  angel  meek. 
For  I  thought  of  her  as  of  a  star — 

(So  glowing  bright  she  shone) 
That  mortal  kind  might  ne'er  approach, 

But  sometimes  gaze  upon. 
I  never  dream'd  that  I  might  dare 

To  worship  at  her  shrine. 
So  years  had  roll'd  away  since  last 
Her  hand  was  clasped  in  mine. 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  41 

I  thought  to  let  oblivion  roll 

Its  shades  eternal  o'er  my  soul, 
Not  with  her  image  shine. 

But  'gainst  her  image  fair  my  mind 
Its  doors  would  never  close. 

And  love  the  while  lay  sleeping  there 
Like  lightning  in  repose 

XXVI. 

She  sang  in  sweet  though  mournful  rhymes, 

Many  sad  tales  of  ancient  times, 
Of  love,  and  war,  and  woe, 

She  sang  of  Agaudecca's  fall — 
That  sunbeam  of  fierce  Starno's  hall 

Whom  Fingal  worship'd  so  ; 
That  for  her  briglit  transcendent  charms — 

He'd  singly  braved  the  world  in  arms, 
And  died  or  won  her  smile  ; 

Ay,  braved  for  her  the  battle  front, 
And  like  a  rock  had  stood  its  brunt 

On  stormy  flood  or  isle. 
Sang  how  Leander  perils  braved 

'Midst  waters  wild  and  grim. 
And  how  the  lovely  Hero  mourn'd, 

And  wept  and  died  for  him. 
This  is  the  love  for  me  she  cried 

Pure  and  for  aye  sincere, 
That  knows  no  change  what'er  betide, 

All  free  from  guile  and  fear. 
That  death  norany  mortal  foe 

Can  sully  or  divide; 
That  flows  as  doth  the  torrent  flow 

Adown  the  mountain's  side — 
Defying  hottest  suns  that  glow. 

And  scorching,  sultry  winds  that  blow. 
By  them  unchanged  undried ; 

And  when  closed  o'er  with  ice  and  snow 
It  rushes  onward  deep  below — 

And  cuts  its  channel  wide. 
Love,  constant  as  the  polar  beam 

Ever  shining  on  serene — 
With  one  undying  fadeless  gleam, 

And  like  the  glory  rays  that  stream 
From  Sol,  aye  warm  and  sheen, 

Though  clouds  awhile  obscure  their  light — 
From  our  dim,  weak  mortal  sight — 

Behind  the  mirky  screen 
They  glow  with  everlasting  glare. 

Pure,  endless  and  suhlime, 
And  feel  no  death  or  change  what'er 

Through  all  the  lapse  of  time. 


42  THZ    PR.E5IDICir>E. 


xxrn. 

So  o'er  lier  laxp  that  maiden  sang 

XTntil  the  moon's  broad  beam 
Aroi=e,  and  all  effiaJgent  shone 

On  bin,  and  marshy  and  stream  ; 
Ob  I  boieath  that  eabn  alver  light 

Thrice  lorefy  did  she  seem. 
And  briobter  than  the  brightest  star  ' 

Her  large  dark  eres  did  gleam — 
Fall  of  hearenfy  light  and  love. 

And  o'er  her  snow  trbite  brow 
There  pa^'d  a  smile  so  sweet  and  eafan 

M^hinks  I  see  it  now — 
All  kolj  li^t  and  pnritj — 

Embl^n  of  the  soul  within. 
Free  as  the  purest  saint  on  nigh 

Fran  taint  of  woe  and  an. 
She  seon'd  like  one  of  those  bright  Nymphs 

That  in  the  dajs  of  old 
Were  seen  bj  bolt  and  £ury  spring. 

Or  (m  the  moonligfat  wold  ; 
Thoogb  ne'er  was  Nymph  or  Naiad  one  half 

So  Ufretj  to  behold. 

XXVILL. 

Thou  Cureat  maid  I  tbiB  b^on — 

That  jet  mine  eye  hath  seen^ 
Of  all  thou  art  the  brightest  one 

That  e'er  across  mj  path  hath  nm, 
Thoa  glowed  like  the  noonday  snn 

AH  peerless  and  serene. 
There's  more  of  beaofy  and  of  grace 

Aboot  thy  lorely  form  and  &ee. 
Than  erown'd  the  first  of  wmnan's  race, 

She,  who  in  Eden  felL 
If  theegreat  ADa  onee  eoold  place 

Amongst  his  dark  eyed  Boiui  race 
Thou  wool^t  their  charms  excel ! 

Art  thoa  indeed  a  mortal  maid  ? 
Or  some  bris^  spirit  sent 

From  hearen,  to  this  world  below  ? 
For  oae  short  season  lent 

To  ns  poor  weary  mortals  here. — 
To  show  what  charms  are  blent 

Within  that  g^wing  world  on  high 
Wiiere  dwells  no  discontent  ? 

Thus  I,  she  started  up  and  tnm'd. 
Surprised  to  find  me  there. 

Her  eyes  with  anger  fiash'd  aod  burn'd 
Withoot  one  agn  of  fear. 


.MC^ 


vt  V- 


5  K'GVsw  irkc-  '^•e 


XXX. 


a: 


A- 


TOO 


7  *J^ 

St 


•i4  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

And  harmless  as  tlie  gentlest  dove 

That  erst  dwelt  ia  Eden's  bowers. 
And  I  bead  the  kuee  before  thee 

With  heart  as  faithful  true  and  fond. 
As  ever  roam'd  o'er  land  or  sea, 

Or  bound  in  Hymea's  holy  bonJ. 
Oh  !  my  dear  and  gentle  maiden 

Could  I  find  words  so  thou  might  see — 
How  my  heart  and  soul  are  laden 

With  pure  undying  love  for  thee — 
Thy  smile  would  ever  glow  for  him, 

Who  humbly  bows  before  thee  here, 
Thou  wouldst  face  perils  dark  and  grim 

To  share  his  earthly  bliss  or  care. 
And  in  my  soul  that  love  I'll  keep, 

And  though  I  die  'twill  burn  on  still, 
Strong  as  the  winds  of  heaven  sweep 

O'er  ocean,  forest,  moor,  and  hill. 
And  each  glowing  smile  thou  hast  shed 

My  memory  shall  ne'er  forget, 
But  dwell  in  it  when  ocean's  bed 

No  longer  with  its  floods  is  wet. 
Start  not — I'd  harm  no  hair  of  thy  head. 

Nor  do  a  thing  to  make  thee  fret, 
We've  met  before,  but  years  have  sped 

On  lishtnino;  wintrs  since  last  we  met, 
If  thou'lt  recall  a  time,  long  since  fled, 

Me  perchance,  thou  mayst  remember  yet. 
But  oh  dear  maid!  one  thing  I  seek, 

'Twill  bind  and  soothe  life's  shattered  cords, 
Pardon  me,  if  too  plain  I  speak 

Nor  be  thou  angry  with  my  words. 
Thou  look'st  so  gentle  good  and  kind 

I'll  breathe  out  all  my  soul  to  thee. 
And  what  I  seek,  here  let  me  find 

In  her,  to  whom  I  bend  the  knee. 

XXXI. 

"I  seek  a  fair  and  gentle  form, 

A  heart  from  strife  and  discord  free, 
A  spirit  loving  true  and  warm 

To  journey  on  through  life  with  me, 
I  seek  a  kind  and  constant  friend 

Who  Death  alone  from  me  can  tear. 
Who  in  afiiiction's  hour  will  lend 

A  helping  hand  to  soothe  my  care. 
I  seek  a  friend  whose  gentle  voice 

Can  cheer  me  through  life's  vale  of  tears, 
By  whfse  side  I  ever  can  rrjoice 

Through  youth  and  through  all  my  old  years. 
T  seek  a  friend  within  whose  eye 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

An  ever  equal  love  I'll  see, 
Who  can  all  earthly  care  defy 

And  ever  joyous  lean  on  me. 
I  seek  a  pure  and  saintly  guide 

To  lead  me  to  that  bless'd  shore  — 
Where  doubt  nor  death,  nor  woes  abide, 

And  spirits  meet  to  part  no  more. 
And  thou  sweetest,  loveliest  soul 

That  ever  look'd  through  human  eyes, 
Assume  o'er  me  thy  mild  control, 

For  thee  my  inmost  being  sighs. 
Ah,  be  thou  my  soothing  angel ! 

Forever  by  my  side  through  life, 
I'll  shield  thee  from  all  sorrows  fell 

As  we  journey  through  this  world  of  strife. 
Let's  hand  in  hand  together  go, 

And  be  each  other's  comforter — 
Down  life's  dark  vale  of  care  and  woe, 

Yea,  be  each  others  worshipper." 

XXXII. 

Silent  and  still  was  she  I  trow, 

And  gazed  on  earth  the  while, 
But  oft  upon  her  snowy  brow 

I  mark'd  a  passing  smile. 
Then  rising  upward  like  a  queen 

From  off  a  stately  throne. 
Glowing  with  majesty  serene 

As  earth  before  had  never  seen 
And  never  but  that  time  hath  beei 

Save  in  heaven  alone  ; 
All  like  an  angel  in  her  mein 

(The  grandest  ever  known) 
Towards   me  awhile  she  deign'd  to  lea^ 

RaisiLg  her  hand  as  though  to  screen 
Those  eyes  so  wondrous  dark  and  sheen, — 

And  with  unfaltering  tone — 
Stepping  backward  on  the  green, 

She  said  "Thou  man  begone. 
Begone,  haste  fly  thee  hence  from  me, 

No  more  thy  nonsense  tell^ 
Thou  art  some  madman  just  set  free — 

Or  broke  from  prison  cell." 
Then  swift  and  graceful  as  a  fawn — 

Scared  by  the  shadows  of  the  dawn. 
Or  of  the  close  of  day — 

That  suddenly  'lojg  its  path  are  drawn, 
So  down  the  sweet  flowery  lawn 

She  'gan  to  wend  her  way. 


45 


46  THE    PRJESIDICIDE. 

XXXIII. 

Had  some  angelic  spirit  come 

To  this  vain  world  below, 
And  borne  me  up  on  wiDas  of  light 

From  all  my  care  and  woe ; 
And  placed  me  on  some  guudy  throne 

Where  I  could  look  around — 
As  king  of  ocean,  earth  and  man, 

Where  I  could  hear  the  sound — 
By  night  and  day  of  ceaseless  song — 

Pour'd  forth  from  many  a  voice. 
And  told  me  that  they  sang  my  praise, 

And  bade  me  long  rejoice. 
Told  me  that  I  was  high  above 

All  death  and  woe  and  sin, 
That  I  had  won  each  peerless  wish 

The  soul  e'er  sought  to  win  ; 
That  mine  was  the  priceless  dower 

Of  rest  and  hope  within. 
And  when  my  soul  was  wrapped  in  bliss, 

And  extacy  divine, 
While  joy  tingling  ran  through  every 

Nerve,  pulse,  and  vein  of  mine, 
He  had  said  thou  fool,  and  hurl'd  me 

To  the  abyss  below, 
And  left  me  with  a  smile  of  scorn 

In  agony  and  woe, 
I  had  not  felt  more  deeply  grieved 

Than  when  I  saw  her  go  ! 

XXXIV. 

"Stay,  stay,  all  hastily  I  cried — 

Alone  thou  shalt  not  go. 
With  thee  sweet  maid  I'll  wend,  let 

Cause  me  weal  or  fellest  woe. 
Grasping  her  snowy  hand  in  mine 

I  gazed  into  her  eyes. 
That  glow'd  with  grand  astonishment, 

With  terror  and  surprise. 
Away  with  all  this  fear  I  said, 

No  harm  can  thee  befall, 
As  safely  here  thou  'bidest  with  me 

As  in  some  guarded  hall. 
Maiden  hast  thou  forgotten  him, 

Who  on  one  stormy  day 
Drag'd  thee  from  yon  roaring  stream,  when 

Thou  in  it  helpless  lay  ? 
Say  rememberest  thou  not  him 

Who  rescued  thee  from  death? 
Who  saved  thee  from  yon  flood  when  thou 

Wert  almost  void  of  breath  ? 
And  bore  thee  in  his  trembling  arms 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  47 

Unto  thy  hoary  sire  ? 
And  watch'd  o'er  thee  until  he  saw 

All  signs  of  death  retire. 
And  he  who  rushed  to  save  thee  then 

From  yonder  roaring  linn, 
Would  any  danger  brave  with  joy 

So  he  thy  smile  might  win. 
Nor  think  thee,  he  who  saved  thee  once 

Would  dream  to  harm  thee  now, 
So  let  all  fear  be  gone,  let  joy 

Again  light  up  thy  brow. 
And  pause  one  moment  more  sweet  maid, 

But  do  not  tremble  so, 
I  wish  to  prove  that  I  am  he 

Then  thou  art  free  to  go. 

XXXV. 

"It  was  beneath  yon  stately  oak 

That  waves  its  branches  there, 
That  overlooks  yon  torrent  strong, 

Yon  waters  deep  and  clear, 
I  sat  that  day,  waiting  my  hounds 

To  start  some  fawn  or  deer ; 
1  heard  a  splashing  in  the  stream, 

And  shriek  of  wild  despair  ; 
And  turning  round  my  gaze,  I  saw 

Upon  tbat  torrent  strong — 
A  frail  slender  bark  by  the  tide 

Borne  rapidly  along. 
And  in  it  sat  a  female  child 

Divinely  bright  and  fair, 
Who  strove  against  that  torrent  fierce 

Her  little  bark  to  steer. 
I  watch'd  her  till  the  torrent  bore 

Her  towards  yon  waterfall, 
I  saw  her  bark  then  driven  o'er, 

That  bark  so  frail  and  small  ; 
And  saw  the  waters  round  it  roar 

In  surges  white  and  tall, 
Made  fierce  with  rains  that  then  did  pour, 

And  by  the  autumn  squall. 
And,  struggling  through  the  froth  and  feam 

I  saw  the  maid  again, 
I  heard  one  wild  piteous  scream 

That  thrill'd  my  soul  with  pain. 
All  pass'd  before  me  like  a  dream 

That  flashes  through  the  brain  ; 
I  plung'd  me  in  the  roaring  stream 

And  swam  to  her  amain. 
One  arm  around  her  form  I  cast, 

And  with  the  other  strove 


4§  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

To  bear  her  from  those  surges  vast, — 

That  down  like  demons  drove, 
Foaming  beneath  the  furious  blast 

D.rowning  swift  that  little  dove. 
Oh  God  !  it  seem'd  all  hope  was  past 

Methousht  I  saw  her  breathe  lier  last, 
When  towards  yon  shallow  cove — 

One  long  desperate  stroke  I  made 
With  all  that  energy — 

Fell   Terror  brings  the  wretch  to  aid — 
And  some  how  sets  him  free — 

Though  dangers  be  around  him  laid 
In  maddening  agony. 

Then  grasp'd  the  branches  of  a  tree 
That  did  o'er  the  flood  incline, 

Soon  hope  revived  and  bounded  free. 
Through  all  this  frame  of  mine. 

For  soon  upon  the  solid  ground 
I  laid  her  helpless  form, 

Shield'd  her  from  that  blast  profound, 
From  all  that  rain  and  storm. 

Until  I  felt  her  pulse  rebound, 
And  felt  her  heart  grow  warm. 

No  more  dear  maid  I  need  to  tell, 
The  rest  thou  may'st  remember  well ; 

From  death  I  saved  those  charms, 
And  then  bore  thee  adown  yon  dell 

Unto  thy  sire's  arms. 

XXXVI. 

''But  since  that  half  forgotten  time. 

That  day  of  joy  and  tears, 
And  this  eve  so  lovely  and  sublime 

There's  a  broad  span  of  years. 
And  many  changes  too  have  flown 

O'er  earth's  diurnal  span, 
Thou  hast  a  lovely  maiden  grown, 

And  I  a  bearded  man. 
Never  from  that  hour  till  this 

Has  thou  e'er  gazed  on  me, 
But  it  has  been  my  secret  bliss 

To  sometimes  gaze  on  thee. 
And  all  unseen,  unknown  by  thee 

I've  watch'd  thee  blooming  here, 
Watch'd  thee  fond  and  tenderly, 

But  never  ventured  near. 
Watch'd  thee  as  some  fair  stately  tree 

Within  some  glowing;  scene. 
Aye  crown'd  with  fountains  fresh  and  free, 

And  with  eternal  green. 
And  like  that  tree  I've  seen  thee  grow 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  49 

To  loveliness  sublime, 
And  long  I've  watch'd  thee  bloom  and  glow 

In  fair  and  glorious  prime. 
But  still  I've  kept  aloof  from  thee, 

And  view'd  thee  from  af  ir. 
With  all  that  homage  pure  and  true 

The  Indian  pays  the  star, 
Watch'd  thee  foudly  as  Elisha  view'd 

Elijah's  burning  car. 
I  deem'd  thee  best  of  human  kind, 

And  such  I  know  thou  art, 
Yea.  thou  art  far  above  them  all 

As  sun  and  earth  apart. 
As  the  flower  that  blooms  beside 

The  crater's  burning  lips, 
And  beautifies  the  gloomy  waste 

That  down  in  darkness  dips, 
So  on  this  world  thou  seemst  to  me, 

Nor  shall  time  one  charm  eclipse. 
So  be  not  angry  with  me  love 

When  unto  thee  I  say, 
I  loved  thee  so  I  could  no  more 

From  thy  sweet  presence  stay. 
Thy  delicious,  dream-like  harmonies 

Enticed  me  here  this  eve, 
And  ere  we  part  one  pitying  smile 

Let  me  from  thee  receive," 

XXXYII. 

The  while  I  spake  her  lovely  eyes 

Were  beaming  full  on  me. 
Oft  they  flash'd  with  queenly  pride. 

Then  shone  mild  and  tenderly. 
And  when  I  ceased,  with  low  sweet  voice 

She  said — "Art  thou  indeed 
That  little  boy  who  rescued  me, 

When  like  a  helpless  reed — 
I  was  dash'd  along  in  yonder  stream 

With  all  its  fearful  speed  ? 
Who  dangers  braved  for  me  and  saved 

Me  in  that  time  of  need  ? 
I've  wonder'd  what  became  of  him, 

And  where  on  earth  he  trod. 
Oft  for  his  welfare  have  I  pray'd 

When  prayers  I  breathed  to  God. 
But  I  have  always  pictured  him 

As  at  that  time  he  seem'd, 
A  beardless,  heroic,  stalwart  boy, 

Whose  eye  with  courage  beam'd. 
Scarce  can  I  recognize  in  thee 

That  boy  of  by  gone  days, 


50  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Save  in  the  easy  dauntless  air 

Thou  seemst  to  have  always. 
Since  thou  art  he,  who  rescued  me 

From  drowning  when  a  child, 
Who  peril'd  thy  own  life  for  me 
,    'Midst  waters  dark  and  wild, 
To  thee  my  heart  shall  always  glow 

With  thanks  and  gratitude. 
And  do  whatever  time  may  show 

For  all  thy  weal  and  good. 
And  when  thou  roam  est  near  this  spot 

I  will  of  thee  request — 
That  thou  wilt  call  at  yonder  cot, 

Thou'lt  be  a  welcomed  guest. 
But  time  speeds  on,  the  night  grows  late, 

And  I  must  move  from  here, 
At  morn  come  thou  to  yonder  cot 

Thou'll  find  my  sire  there." 

XXXVIII. 

She  said  and  towards  her  vine-clad  cot 

With  stately  step  she  trod, 
I  mark'd  her  as  she  moved  along 

O'er  the  flower  and  clod. 
No  step  so  light  and  true  as  hers 

Has  press'd  earth's  glowing  sod. 
Since  all  the  races  of  mankind 

Sprung  from  the  hand  of  God. 
I  mark'd  her  in  her  doorway  stand 

All  like  a  vision  bright, 
But  ere  she  closed  the  door  she  smiled. 

And  waved  her  hand  good  night, 
Grood  night,  sweet  angel  of  my  heart, 

I  answer'd  with  a  sigh, 
May  God  to  watch  and  guard  o'er  thee 

Be  ever  hovering  nigh. 

XXXIX. 

Ah  !  why  does  that  sweet  gentle  maid 

Whose  bright  transcendent  smile — 
Glow'd  pure  and  holy  as  a  saint's 

All  free  from  every  wile — 
Haunt  me  in  this  hour  of  woe  ? 

Of  torture  and  of  pain  ? 
Ah  !  why  comes  she  to  this  sad  mind 

With  all  her  smiles  again  ? 
Ah  !  why  does  one  so  pure  and  grand 

Haunt  my  memory  still  ? 
Why  do  her  gentle  words  and  looks 

Now  this  vile  bosom  fill  ? 
She  comes  because  while  gazing  down 

The  corridor  of  time, 
From  boyhood's  wild  and  tender  years 


T.PE    PR^SIDICIDE.  51 

To  manhood's  sterner  prime^ 
She's  the  sole  one  I've  met  that  seemed 

A  being  all  sublime. 
She's  the  loveliest  Oasis 

That  memory  can  find — 
While  travelling  o'er  that  arid  waste 

Of  years  I've  left  behind. 
She's  ever  shrined  amongst  my  thoughts 

Like  some  bright  star  of  eve  n, 
"Which  sheds  its  hallowing  light  across 

The  azure  vault  of  heaven. 
And  aye  before  my  spirit's  gaze — 

Amidst  the  realm  of  dreams — 
Like  moonlight  glittering  on  the  sea, 

lier  'witching  beauty  gleams. 
Methinks  I  can  recall  her  now 

As  in  those  days  gone  by, 
Recall  each  word  she  spake  to  me, 

Yea,  every  sweet  reply. 
Methinks  I  hear  her  speaking  now 

With  voice  so  sweet  and  low, 
As  erst  she  spake,  and  thrills  of  joy 

Would  through  my  being  go. 
I  see  her  at  her  cottage  door. 

Or  roaming  o'er  her  lawn, 
Graceful,  queenly  in  all  her  ways, 

And  timid  as  the  fawn. 
But  she  is  dead,  not  only  her — 

But  every  one  who  e'er — 
Has  seemed  to  love  and  cherish  me. 

What  e'er  my  follies  were 
Yea,  all  those  who  e'er  deigned  to  look 

With  kindness  and  with  love — 
On  all  those  vast  defects  and  faults 
That  through  my  nature  rove. 

XL. 

Ah,  my  God  !  I  remember  well 

That  dark  and  stormy  night, 
When  from  this  world  of  grief  and  woe 

Her  spirit  took  its  flight. 
'Twas  at  midnight's  solemn  hour 

A  stormy  night  like  this — 
Her  spirit  soar'd  on  wings  of  light 

And  reach'd  the  realm  of  bliss. 
And  left  me  here  on  earth  alone 

To  ever  mourn  her  loss  : — 
Left  me  a  shatter'd  helm  less  wreck 

With  waves  and  winds  to  toss. 
Had  God  but  left  her  here  with  me 

For  one  short  span  of  years. 
She  would  have  made  me  such  a  man 


52  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 


0 


As  seldom  here  appears, 
For  none  have  ever  lived  on  earth 

Who  o'er  my  mind  and  soul, 
Could  like  her  such  influence  gain, 

Such  thorough,  vast  control. 
Iler  gentle  voice  had  guided  me 

Upon  the  road  to  heaven, 
And  for  all  woe,  her  sunny  smile 

A  healing  balm  had  given. 
She  might  have  led  me  if  she  chose 

In  bonds  that  would  appall — 
And  gall  all  other  men,  and  I 

Would  ne'er  have  felt  her  thrall, — 
I  worshipp'd  and  I  loved  her  so  ; 

But  'twas  not  thus  to  be, 
Away  Grod  took  her  ere  the  time, 

Yea,  call'd  her  far  from  me. 

XLI. 

Away,  away  ye  gloomy  thoughts. 

Bring  back  that  happy  day, 
When  her  and  I  stood  gazing:  on 
The  mountain  torrent's  spray. 
Ilfcr  hand  all  snowy  white  and  small 

Was  gently  clasped  in  mine, 
And  oft  I  saw  her  starry  eyes 
Stol'n-wise  upon  me  shine. 
I  never  thought  that  mortal  maid 

Could  thrill  my  being  so — 
With  worship,  love,  and  awe,  as  then 

I  felt  within  me  glow. 
Before  her  on  the  grassy  sod 

I  a  pleading  captive  kneel'd. 
And  pour'd  out  all  my  soul  to  her, 

Yea,  all  my  love  reveal'd. 
Come,  be  my  soul's  far  dearest  part, 

The  angel  of  my  life, 
And  soothe  one  weary  aching  heart 

Amidst  this  world  of  strife. 
Oh,  come,  and  journey  by  my  side 

As  down  life's  vale  I  go ; 
Oh,  be  my  partner,  friend  and  guide, 

And  charmer  of  all  woe  ! 
For  as  the  loving  mother  yearns 

Towards  her  only  child, 
So  aye,  to  thee  my  spirit  turns 

With  passion  almost  wild. 
I'll  shield  thee  from  all  storm  and  care 

And  gladden  all  thy  days, 
And  thou  shalt  be  my  guiding  star 
Through  all  life's  chcker'd  ways. 
Ah,  maiden,  say  !  oh,  let  me  know  ! 


THE    PRiESIDTCIDE.  53 

Nor  keep  me  here  so  long 
In  doubt  and  agony,  thou  knowest 

My  love  is  deep  and  strong. 
I  know,  nought  but  love  and  pity 

Can  touch  a  soul  like  thine, 
More  than  the  lightning's  fearful  flame 

Could  strike  the  stars  divine. 
I  know  thou  art  all  good  and  kind 

As  angels  o'er  distress. 
And  thou  wilt  say  one  little  word 

That  all  my  life  will  bless  ; 
I  ask  thee  if  thou  wilt  be  mine. 

And,  ah  !  now  answer  Yes  ! 

XLII. 

Glorious  day,  0,  happy  day  ! 

All  grand  and  bright  in  every  way ; 
The  sweetest  ever  known 

Through  all  the  mortal  span  of  years 
That  o'er  my  head  have  flown. 

Sorrow  and  grim  Despair  were  gone, 
All  but  bliss  and  joy  were  fled ; 

Hope  warm'd  and  fill'd  my  heart,  Gladness 
Flapped  its  wings  above  my  head. 

?he  turn'd  her  eyes  on  me,  beaming 
With  love,  that  knows  no  shame, 

Through  all  my  inmost  being  shot 
Their  pure  and  holy  flame. 

But  all  the  while  my  heart  hung  poised 
'Twixt  joy  and  agony, 

Till  with  a  voice  all  low  and  sweet 
She  smiling  spake  to  me. 

XLiri. 

"Had  I  e'er  sought  a  friend  to  love, 

To  honor  and  esteem. 
Above  the  rest  of  human  kind. 

Aye,  love  with  all  my  soul  and  mind. 
And  second  but  to  Him  alone 

Who  sits  on  heaven's  topmost  throne, 
Do  not  a  moment  dream — 

But  I  had  chosen  that  bold  youth 
Who  on  that  stormy  day — 

Freely  peril'd  his  own  life  for  me 
Amidst  the  torrent's  spray. 

Nor  could  I  e'er  do  aught  to  thee 
To  cause  thy  soul  distress. 

And  I  will  share  thy  earthly  lot 
If  'twill  crown  thy  happiness. 

Aye  hand  in   hand   whate'er  betide 
Through  life  with  thee  I'll  go, 

To  bless  and  comfort  thee  and  share 


54  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Thy  peril,  pain  or  woe." 
XLTV. 

There's  a  time  of  such  joy  and  bliss 

Unto  all  mortals  given — 
They  feel  as  they  were  lifted  up 

Unto  the  light  of  heaven. 
A  time  of  joy  and  extacy, 

Of  light  and  bliss  divine, 
That  thrills  all  the  inmost  being 

With  rapture  pure  and  fine. 
As  floods  of  holy  light  it  comes 

And  passes  o'er  the  soul, 
While  it  lives  and  glows  years  on  years 

Away  as  moments  roll; 
And  all  have  felt  that  thrill  of  bliss 

That  ever  lived  on  earth, 
Though  as  lightning  in  a  dark  abyss 

It  perished  at  its  birth. 
And  left  that  heart  in  gloom  profound, 

Scarr'd  with  many  a  bleeding  wound, 
And  drearer  than  before, 

Yea,  left  it  so  that  gladness  ne'er 
Within  that  blighted  heart,  and  sear, 

Should  bloom  or  blossom  more. 
Here  left  it  all  Tithonus-like 

To  ever  mourn  and  pine, 
And  live  on  in  remembrance  of 

That  flash  of  bliss  divine. 
And  none  e'er  felt  that  thrill  of  joy 

'Neath  yon  o'er-arching  sky. 
None  ever  trod  this  world  of  woe  — 

Nor  yet  were  born  to  die — 
Felt  it  their  inmost  being  thrill 

More  keen  and  strong  than  I. 
Had  all  the  diamonds  of  the  world, 

And  all  its  mines  of  gold 
And  all  the  pearls  on  ocean's  bed, 

And  wealth  of  worlds  untold. 
Been  sought  and  gather'd  in  a  pile — 

And  laid  before  my  feet. 
Not  a  moment  I'd  exchanized  lliem  for 

Those  feelings  bright  and  sweet — 
I  inward  felt  while  there  i  knelt 

Upon  the  grassy  sod — 
Ee'ore  that  bright  heavenly  maid, 

That  lovely  work  of  God. 
And  heard  her  with  voice  so  soft  and  mild 

Smiling  answer  yes, — 
Say  she  would  aye  be  mine  through  life 

To  comfort  and  to  bless. 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Then  all  seem'cl  bri2;ht  and  heavenly 
Away  all  but  gladness  pass'd, 

I  was  whelm'd  with  floods  of  extacy — 
As  the  waters  cover  o'er  the  sea, 

But  ah,  doom'd  short  to  last! 

XLV. 

Oh,  God  !  must  I  again  recall 

That  njournful  scene  to  view  ? 
Must  that  last  dark  trying  hour 

Now  visit  me  anew  ? 
Must  I  aoain  feel  all  that  woe 

That  then  I  felt  and  knew  ? 
Such  grief  as  yet  by  mortal  kind 

Was  only  known  to  few. 
Or  if  felt  by  many,  few  survived 

To  tell  what  woe  and  pain — 
The  human  heart  can  bear  and  feel 
Ere  it  is  rent  in  twain. 
Yet  all  such  grief  was  felt  by  me 

The  night  her  spirit  flew — 
To  everlasting  joy  and  bliss, 

And  far  from  me  withdrew. 

XLVI. 

'Twas  night,  dark  night  like  this, 

The  rain  as  now  did  pour, 
And  from  their  mountain  heights  I  heard 

The  swollen  torrents  roar. 
And  through  the  window  panes  I  saw 

Terrific  lightnings  glow, 
And  booming  over  head  I  heard 

The  thunders  come  and  go.  > 

T  stood  that  night  beside  her  bed — 

With  anguish  riven  soul, 
Oh,  all  her  friends  were  weeping  round 

In  utter  pain  and  dole. 
Death's  ghastly  hue  was  on  her  brow, 

I  felt  her  pulse,  God,  I  feel  it  now! 
It  all  too  plainly  show'd, 

That  she  was  sinking,  dying  fast, 
That  every  hope  was  gone  and  past 

Of  her  recovery,  so  vast, 
So  keen  her  fever  glowed. 

As  o'er  that  much  loved  dying  one 
My  eager  eyes  I  kept — 

Dark  sorrow  gather'd  round  my  soul 
And  as  a  child  I  wept. 

I  wept,  I  wept,  I  who  can  boast 
A  heart  to  terror  steel'd, 

A  heart  as  stern  as  ever  went 


^5 


5C  THE    PR  ESIDICIDE. 

To  any  battle  field. 

Ah,  yes  !  above  that  much  loved  one 
My  bitter  tears  did  flow, 

I  felt  that  sorrow  dark  and  wild — 
That  unutterable  woe, 

That  always  leaves  the  spirit  cast 
In  agony  and  gloom, 

And  though  it  lives  for  ages  here 
It  ne'er  again  can  bloom. 

Ah,  my  God  1  ghastly  grew  her  face, 
Her  eyes  around  did  8wim, 

Delirious  with  the  fever's  pain 
She  writhed  in  every  limb. 

But  soon  her  agony  was  o'er, 
No  more  we  felt  her  breath, 

And  with  a  sweet  and  placid  smile 
She  lay  in  silent  death. 

XLVII. 

Had  an  earthquake  shook  the  ground, 

And  stirr'd  it  to  its  depths  profound. 
And  bade  its  awful  death  knell  sound  ; 

Had  all  the  world  in  one  dread  blast 
Before  me  to  destruction  past, 

And  all  the  fires  of  hell  and  woe 
Burst  forth  and  round  me  'gan  to  flow 

With  all  their  scorching  maddening  glow, 
I  had  not  felt  more  deeply  riven 

]tVith  anguish  fell  and  keen — 
Than  when  the  shades  of  deaths  were  driven 

Around,  and  closed  the  scene. 
All  griefs  and  sorrows  of  the  soul 

Swell'd  up  in  me  beyond  control, 
I  strove  but  could  not  speak.  ^ 

In  silent  consternation  drown'd, 
And  lethargy  of  woe  profound, 

All  mournfully  we  gazed  around, 
While  tears  ran  down  each  cheek. 

XLVIII. 

There  lay  in  ghastly  silent  death 

The  fairest  maid  that  time 
Through  all  his  flight  has  seen,  cut  down 

In  grand  and  glowing  prime. 
Like  some  fair  flower  that  has  grown 

To  loveliness  sublime — 
That  falls  beneath  the  reaper's  scythe, 

Or  winter's  blast  and  rime. 
Yea,  she  who  was  my  promised  bride, 

And  would  have  been  mine  soon, 
Who  would  have  cheer'd  me  as  the  sun 

Illumes  the  world  at  noon ; 


THE    PR^WIDICIDE.  57 

Who  would  have  ever  been  to  me 

God  noblest,  kindest  boon. 
As  the  Pharos  on  the  mountain's  side 

That  lends  its  kindly  ray — 
The  storm  beat  mariner  to  guide 

At  night  upon  his  way, 
So  he  may  safely  steer  his  craft 

By  wh'rlpools  fierce  and  dark. 
And  awful  rocks  that  round  him  frown. 

Though  storms  are  howling  stark, 
So  she  adown  the  stream  of  time 

Had  safely  guided  me, 
Kept  me  from  all  those  treacherous  rocks 

That  lie  amidst  life's  sea. 

XLTX. 

Blow  on  ye  tempests  ever  blow, 

Ay,  howl  on  fierce  as  now — 
O'er  all  the  startled  sea  and  land 

And  cool  my  burning  brow. 
For  my  blood  like  liquid  fire 

Is  sweeping  through  my  form. 
Grief  and  remorse  tear  through  my  soul 

Like  a  relentless  storm. 
Each  pain  of  body  and  of  mind. 

All  woe  and  agony — 
E'er  felt  or  known  by  human  kind 

Now  racks  and  tortures  me. 
For  dark  sin  and  critic,  here  on  earth 

My  God  has  cast  me  low, 
Oppress'd  with  grief,  oppress'd  with  all 

Unutterable  woe  ; 
I'm  as  some  goaded  beast  of  old 

Kept  in  a  cage  for  show, 
So  that  the  gaping  crowds  may  see 

How  fierce  his  rage  would  glow. 
Oh,  my  God  !  I  cannot  bear  this  pain 

That  darts  through  form  and  limb  and  brain, 
Have  mercy,  mercy  now, 

Oh,  take  away  yon  spectre  grim  ! 
And  ease,  oh  ease  my  broken  limb  ! 

And  cool  my  burning  brow  ! 
And  oh  !  have  mercy  on  my  soul 

When  summon'd  to  Thy  throne 
Let  this  unutterable  woe 

For  all  my  guilt  atone. 
If  I'm  to  find  no  mercy  there 

For  deeds  done  in  this  world, 
Then  may  my  spirit  ever  be 

To  dark  oblivion  hurl'd. 
But  not  cast  'midst  fiery  flames. 


•58  THE     PR^SIDICIDE. 

And  everlasting  pain, 
But  aye  in  some  lone  quiet  spot 

From  Thy  dread  sight  remain. 
And  when  that  awful  day  arrives 

That  all  the  seas  and  earth — 
Shall  render  up  their  dead,  and  man 

Receive  another  birth. 
When  that  last  trumpet  blast  shall  sound 

Through  every  sea  and  clime — 
In  notes  far  louder  than  the  hoard'd 

Thunders  of  all  time^ 
"When  all  the  floods  and  lands  shall  quail 

Beneath  those  peals  sublime. 
And  render  up  their  dead  to  life 

And  everlasting  prime, 
Ay,  when  all  the  countless  millions 

That  on  this  earth  have  trod, 
Shall  burst  from  death  and  move  before 

Thy  judg  jnent  throne.  Oh,  God  ! 
To  render  up  account  to  Thee 

For  all  their  deeds  on  earth, 
Who  knows  each  secret,  hidden  crime. 

And  thought,  that  gave  it  birth, 
Ah,  may  this  cruel  guilty  wretch 

Remain  unsummon'd  there! 
Be  hid  forever  from  Thy  sight, 

Nor  meet  Thy  angry  stare  ! 
Or  if  I  must  be  summon'd  there 

Amongst  that  countless  train — 
And  see  the  one  I  loved  on  earth — 

With  all  my  soul  again, 
Let  her  not  know  I'm  dyed  so  dark 

With  foul  dishonor's  stain. 

L. 

Methinks  I  can  recall  the  scene 

That  melancholy  day. 
When  from  her  cot  the  funeral  train 

Amidst  the  mist  and  autumn  raiu, 
Stretch'd  out  in  long  array 

Far  down  the  narrow  vale  we  wound 
With  solemn  step  and  slow, 

'Till  we  reached  the  burial  ground, 
VVhere  mortals  all  must  go. 

But  oh  !  no  words  can  e'er  portray 
The  horror  and  the  gloom — 

I  felt  while  she  was  lower'd  down 
Into  her  narrow  room. 

For  I  had  ne'er  one  mome:it's  thought 
As  by  her  side  I  trnd — 

That  God  had  destined  her  to  lie 


THE    PRjESIDICIDE. 


59 


Benecath  the  silent  sod. 

Though  she  was  mortal  like  us  all, 
I  could  not  deem  her  so, 

Although  I  saw  her  still  in  death, 
And  cold  and  white  as  snow. 

I  never  thought  her  starry  eyes 
Would  ever  cease  to  beam. 

That  they  on  me  would  ever  cease 
With  looks  of  love  to  gleam. 

I  never  thought  her  sunny  smile 
On  me  should  cease  to  pour, 

That  Death  would  seal  her  lips  and  I 
Would  hear  her  voice  no  more. 

If  of  Death  I  thought,  I  ne'er  dreamt 
He'd  visit  her  so  soon 

That  her  morning  sun  which  rose  so  fair 
Would  go  down  ere  noon. 

Nor  has  her  image  left  my  breast 
One  moment  of  my  life, 

Though  I  have  mix'd  'midst  scenes  of  mirth 
Where  every  joy  was  rife 

'i  hat  earth  could  boast,  though  I  may've  seem'd 
To  every  mortal  there 

To  've  shared  the  mirth  with  equal  zest, 
And  seem'd  all  void  of  care — 

Yet  grief  lay  heavy  at  my  heart. 
Sorrow  wrung  my  breast, — 

With  all  her  darkest  saddest  thoughts 
And  phantoms  of  unrest. 

LL 

Men  say  the  body  of  the  sun 

Is  hollow,  hard,  and  cold  and  dun, 
A  planet  of  stupendous  size 

But  cheerless  and  all  grim. 
And  that  light  is  but  a  floating 

Fluid  veiling  circling  him. 
So  oft  alas  the  heart  of  man 

Is  like  it  drear  and  dim, 
Despite  the  full  electric  light — 

And  bliss  untouched  by  sin — 
Or  woe  or  want,  it  lives  and  breathes 

And  hides  forever  in. 

LII. 

Is  it  a  dream  ?  or  do  I  hear 

A  murmur  faint  and  low  ? 
Sadly  it  comes  unto  my  ear. 

As  though  a  spirit  now  were  near 
Lamenting  o'er  my  woe. 

Thou  ever  dear  and  mourn'd  for  maid 


GO  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Who  slumbers  in  the  tomb, 

'Tis  thy  sweet  spirit  sighing  near 
O'er  all  my  woe  and  gloom. 

Oft  methink  as  through  life  I've  trod, 
Since  thou  wert  laid  beneath  the  sod 

Aye,  hid  from  human  sight — 
I've  heard  thy  spirit  sighing  low — 

Just  as  I've  turn'd  from  weal  to  woe, 
Felt  it  strive  to  keep  me  right. 

And  if  'tis  thee,  oh  come  !  oh  come  ! 
And  this  lost  spirit  save ; 

And  lead  my  aching  body  forth 
Unto  its  yawning  grave 

For  thee,  my  bosom  yet  inurns 
As  fondly  as  of  yore, 

For  thee  my  soul  and  being  burns 
With  love  unknown  before  ; 

For  thee  each  thought  and  feeling  yearns 
That  warms  my  bosom's  core, 

No  matter  where  my  footstep  turns 
I  love  thee  more  and  more. 

So  come  to  me,  in  pity  come, 
And  if  thou  hast  the  power — 

Then  take  my  spirit  forth  with  thee, 
Nor  leave  it  here  to  cower 

Beneath  unutterable  woe, 
For  it  has  suifer'd  long, 

Borne  every  agony  from  woe's 
Deep  cutting,  burning  thong. 

And  plead  thou  for  me  in  heaven 
Before  the  throne  of  Light, 

Pray  my  crimes  be  all  forgiven, 
And  keep  my  spirit  right. 

If  any  love  thou  hast  for  me 
Like  that  thou  once  didst  show, 

I  know  thou  yet  will  pity  me, 
And  mourn  o'er  all  my  woe. 

Through  thy  love  and  that  alone 
I  fondly  hope  to  win — 

Forgiveness  for  my  deeds  on  earth, 
For  all  my  crime  and  sin. 

For  thou  will  kneel  before  thy  God, 
And  plead  forever  there 

To  Him  for  me,  yes  aye  to  II im 
Thou'lt  waft  thy  fervent  prayer. 

And  other  white  wing'd  saints  thou'lt  win 
To  plead  to  Him  with  thee^ 

Till  He  shall  set  my  weary  soul 
From  sin  and  sorrow  free, 

Plead  till  I  with  thee  in  heaven 
Shall  boundless  rapture  see. 


THE    PH^SrpiCIDE.  Bi, 

LTII. 

Ah,  my  God  !  what  a  strange  wild  train 
Of  thoughts  are  sweeping  through  my  brain,' 

As  hot  blasts  that  o'er  the  desert  urge — 
Seeming  to  howl  the  funeral  dirge 

Of  some  lost  caravan — 
That  ne'er  from  sand  billows  shall  emerge  ; 

So  they  through  my  soul  and  being  surge, 
And  mind  and  body  warp  and  scourge 

"With  all  the  force  they  can, 
And  drive  me  to  the  utmost  verge 

Fell  Grief  could  ever  span. 
Ay,  each  thought  of  fell  woe,  and  gloom 

Goes  tearing  through  my  brain — 
As  the  fiery,  red  Simoom 

That  sweeps  the  desert  plain, 
Destroying  all  that  dares  to  bloom, 

Or  wave  in  gladness  there, 
Keeping  all  drearer  than  the  tomb 

Wrapped  in  horror  and  despair, 

LIV. 

Ah  !  will  my  spirit  ne'er  emerge 

From  out  this  trance  of  woe  ? 
Will  rapture  never  more  within 

This  throbbing  bosom  glow  ? 
Must  I  feel  all  this  agony 

Until  my  dying  hour  ? 
Or  will  it  then  burn  on  as  now 

And  keep  me  'neath  its  power  ? 
Oh  !  had  I  but  the  wine  cup  now 

To  drink  my  care  away. 
Then  would  I  drain  the  burning  bowl 

'Till  on  the  earth  I  lay — 
'Neath  its  deadening  power  o'erwhelm'd. 

Ay,  thoroughly  o'ercome. 
Yea  I'd  drink  'till  it  should  every 

Thought,  nerve,  and  pain  benumb, 
'Till  like  a  clod  on  earth  I  lay — 

As  senseless  and  as  dumb, 
Senseless  as  the  carrion  o'er  which 

The  flies  in  summer  hum. 
Then  would  I  count  me  bless'd  indeed. 

And  banish  from  my  breast — 
All  these  damn'd,  dire  thoughts  and  pains, 

And  phantoms  of  unrest. 

LV, 

Ah  !  had  I  never  left  those  hills 

But  lived  beside  her  tomb, 
Watch'd  the  early  flowers  of  spring 

Above  it  bud  and  bloom, 


^2  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

And  water'd  them  with  secret  tears 

Till  all  devouring  time — 
Had  bow'd  me  down,  and  ta'en  my  soul 

To  that  eternal  clime — 
Where  now  she  dwells  in  light  serene 

And  everlasting  prime, 
Ever  rejoicing  with  her  God, 

A  spirit  all  sublime, 
T  had  not  lay  upon  this  lair, 

And  mourn'd  o'er  deeds  of  crime. 
Ah,  no  !  I  had  not  been  as  now 

The  abject  low  and  vile. 
Without  a  thought,  without  a  hope, 

My  sorrow  to  beguile. 
Nor  hail'd  with  terror  and  with  dread 

The  coming  morning's  smile. 
I  had  been  no  murderer  low, 

No  felon  dark  and  mean, 
No  traitor  of  the  basest  kind 

That  yet  the  earth  has  seen. 

LVI. 

How  gladly  would  I  wander  o'er 

Some  strange  and  savage  land  once  more, 
Such  as  those  hills  in  youth  I  trod. 

Ere  yet  aflSiction's  scourgins  rod, 
And  sin  and  sorrow's  blighting  frown 

Had  cast  me  soul  and  body  down. 
Could  I  live  o'er  my  life  again 

There,  there  I'd  ever  more  remain, 
All  free  from  woe,  and  want,  and  pain. 

With  joy  I'd  view  those  works  of  God, 
And  they  should  aye  by  me  be  trod. 

For  what  joy  'mongst  those  wastes  to  dwell, 
And  gaze  at  night  upon  each  fell. 

As  lost  in  air  its  brow  it  rears, 
As  though  it  propped  the  starry  spheres. 

When  dewy  morning  lights  the  world, 
How  sweetly  round  those  peaks  are  curl'd 

The  golden  clouds,  how  sweet  to  view 
When  Sol  bursts  forth  with  glowing  hue — 

Their  silent  flight  through  realm  of  blue. 
How  sweet  to  view  the  sun  streak'd  snow 

In  avalanches  downward  go. 
How  sweet  to  hear  the  torrents  roar, 

And  see  them  down  the  mountains  pour. 
How  sweet  to  see  the  countless  trees 

Tossing  their  branches  to  the  breeze. 
All  things  around,  above,  below. 

Seem  to  say,  God  has  made  us  so. 
From  hill  to  hill,  all  wild  and  grand; 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  03 

I'd  roam  my  rifle  in  my  hand ; 
And  list  with  joy  unto  the  howl 

Of  wolves,  as  o'er  those  wastes  they  prowl. 
Without  a  wish,  or  grief  or  pain, 

A  hunter  I  would  still  remain. 
Ever  strong,  sanguine,  fresh,  and  free, 

No  thought  or  care  should  trouble  me. 
With  spirit,  joyous,  calm,  and  mild, 

I'd  hunt  the  terrors  of  the  wild. 
Each  morn  and  eve  the  hills  around — 

With  yells  of  my  fierce  dogs  should  sound  ; 
With  them  I'd  search  each  mountain  fen. 

And  rout  the  panther  from  his  den. 
With  them  I'd  stop  the  grizzly  bear, 

And  drop  the  wolf  beside  his  lair. 
I'd  start  the  beaver  in  the  brake. 

My  gun  should  sound,  his  hide  I'd  take. 
The  robe  of  many  a  bufi'alo 

Should  shield  me  from  the  winds  and  snow. 
My  gun  should  stop  the  antelope, 

Upon  the  mountain's  rocky  slope ; 
My  hounds  and  I  within  my  biel 

On  him  should  make  a  wholesome  meal ; 
And  they  should  guard  me  through  the  night. 

While  I  lay  down  to  slumbers  light. 
Ah,  yes  !  without  a  want  or  pain, 

Would  lever  there  remain  ; 
Roam  like  the  Indian  who  treads 

The  desert  with  a  smile, 
And  makes  the  scenes  that  nature  spreads 

Around,  though  it  be  gloom  she  sheds, 
His  solitude  beguile. 

Face  every  danger  of  the  wold — 
At  day,  or  midnight  drear, 

The  angry  monster  fierce  and  bold. 
The  tempest  dreadful  to  behold. 

The  torrent  fell,  and  winter  cold, 
Without  a  pang  or  fear. 

Like  him  with  spirit  buoyant,  mild, 
I'd  live  the  hermet  of  the  wild, 

Far  from  the  busy  world's  dull  chime, 
And  die  at  God's  appointed  time. 

LVII. 

My  thoughts  were  never  such  as  these, 

When  free  from  woe  and  agonies, 
From  hunger  and  despair, 

1  rose  on  many  a  happy  night. 
To  charm  and  glad  the  soul  and  sight, 

Of  all  the  young  and  fair — 
Who  flock'd  unto  the  theatre. 


64 


To  see  se  oa  z'-i  r.i^e. 
If  any  nmr  wit  r  ^        '  -  -f^'d 

I  eooki  their  ^  :e. 

For  I  isdeed  eoa!d  ^      -.-  :   r:. 

^: -'!  eithfT  ?  :  .^ — 


At.  —      1  ^  r  to  see  me  plsj, 

y :  _  -  V    :  "  -   :  _t  pan 
r ::  1 :  i  .    :  _  .  i "   :  f .  if  scrroT  lar 


Asa- 


M  sxToIL, 


_^'i    7t:        -_    r  i«r^j  I'd  roll 
LYITL 


Ere~-"-  ii-vi  - :  .i  vt.-  __Li.. 

Ti   :      :      .  ::     — :_:    -       .    .:id. 
A::  i  ^  -.Taia  dixt  aaerr  -  _    _  1 

i  and  love. 
T-i^:  5e  states  a«: It     -..;.; 

S~:i  It  t:  ^'-::  to  totc- 


]RodaiiB, 

Ere  ~:  .  1  -  ^      r       i  seorduBg  f 

P::.:  -.1.;-  -^  -11. 

Ere  :;.T  :..  T  ^-,  -  ..  ;  ^   :~  trrd 


:  land 
>ell. 


:m'd  to  lore  a:i 
TTthaadbe- 

7     :-  ;-^,^t!&in  H    mi^ 


TSaS.    PSJESBKEDK  69' 


I  was  1^ 
I  li- 


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^•iwigfct  J 

66  THE    PR-ESIDICIDE, 

And  that  everlasting  glory 

On  tigli  "woald  be  his  meed. 
He  thousht  it  was  no  shame  at  all, 

Xor  any  act  of  crime. — 
But  a  meritorious  deed — 

All  roble  and  sublime, 
To  wake  up  strife  and  murder  fell, 

And  breed  up  discord  so. 
To  teach  the  negro  how  to  strike 

The  foul  assassin  s  blow. 
At  night  to  urge  him  on  to  make 

The  fires  of  ruin  glow, 
And  lay  his  master's  stately  home 

In  dust  and  ashes  low. 
He  thought  it  just  that  aU  the  whites 

Within  the  South  should  die. 
So  that  the  nesro  might  arise 

From  bonds  of  slayery. 
For  this,  ay  solely  for  that  cause 

He  murder's  flag  unfurld. 
And  swore  that  he  was  working  good 

To  God  and  all  the  world. 
And  so  it  is  with  all  like  him, 

They  always  seem  to  feel, 
Xo  matter  what  black  crime  they  do, 

It  is  an  act  of  weal. 
They  show  no  sign  of  grief  or  dule. 

For  any  deed  of  theirs. 
No  matter  how  gross,  dark  and  foul, 

It  to  the  world  appears. 
And  although  human  law  and  rule 

Should  their  fierce  heat  for  carnage  cool, 
And  force  them  to  account, 

Doom  them  to  suffer  and  to  die 
A  death  of  shame  and  infamy  — 

Upon  the  gallows  dark  and  high, 
Yet  with  unninchini;  nerve  and  eye — 

They  will  the  scaffold  mount. 
Feign  exuberance  of  extacy, 

Swear  'till  their  latest  breath — 
That  mankind  carry  them  to  die 

A  noble  martyr's  death. 

LIX. 

Away  with  thoughts  like  these,  I'll  back 

To  that  infernal  time 
When  I  sat  with  murderers  fell 

And  plann'd  the  cursed  crime. 
That  cruel  blow  that  turnd  to  woe, 

And  darkness  dread  and  strange, 
The  loyal  and  the  leal  throughout 


THE    PRiSIDICIDE.  67 

Broad  Columbia's  range. 
That  made  her  trembling  start,  as  thougli 

Ai}  earthquake  shook  the  world, 
And  her  high  pinnacle  of  joj 

To  woe  and  s^Drrow  hurl'd. 
At.  all  were  happy  in  the  laad 

Ere  that  fatal  buUet  sped, 
Ere  I  the  treacherous  and  vile 

Laid  noble  Lincoln  dead. 
For  every  day  throughout  the  land 

The  joyous  tidin.'s  peal'd — 
That  same  vast  army  of  the  foe 

Upon  a  bloodlesc  field 
Had  surrendered  to  the  North,  and  more 

Without  a  blow,  or  drop  of  gore 
Were  just  about  to  yield, 

That  soon  no  trait  .r  in  the  land 
The  bloody  sword  8h<^.uld  wield. 

All  look'd  for  speedy  peace  supreme, 
And  rapture  unconfined, 

All  hoped  that  peace  right  soon  again 
Would  o'er  the  land  assume  her  reign. 

That  the  erring  states  with  us  amain 
In  loving  sisterhood  would  bind ; 

And  nowhere  in  the  land  was  seen 
A  dark  and  sorrow  stricken  mind. 

When  I  the  blasting  Oyclone  rose, 
Wither  d their  blooming  mirth. 

Spread  gloom  like  shadow  of  eclipse 
That  darkens  half  the  earth. 

As  a  fire  of  blight  and  woe 
By  drivinsr  tempests  fann'd, 

The  fell  tremendous  tidings  swept 
Throughout  the  startled  land. 

And  all  the  nation  mourns  for  him, 
All  mirth  has  ceased  to  glow. 

And  from  the  stately  mansions,  banes 
The  drapery  of  wee. 

Ah  !  many  a  head  is  bow'd  with  grief 
And  many  an  eye  is  dim. 

As  in  the  churches  o'er  the  land 
They  sing  the  funeral  hymn. 

For  me  each  face  within  the  land 
Is  pale  with  rage  and  hate, 
,  And  if  they  bad  me  in  their  hands 
I'd  meet  a  ghastly  fate. 

A-  '        '  '    r  :a  this  world  shall  e'er 
Their  .:.....„j;  :;;ry  tame. 

They  curse  me  for  the  deed,  and  wish 
Me  in  hell's  hissing  flame. 

Each  in  his  mind  prepares  some  death. 


68  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

And  swears  that  I  stall  feel 

A  death  of  pain  unknown  before, 
E'en  on  the  torturing  wheel. 

LX. 

Ah !  wherefore  lie  I  on  this  lair 

And  recall  such  deeds  of  wronc;   ? 
Why  let  them  round  my  achinp;  brain 

Like  burning  Furies  throng? 
"Why  let  them  throb  within  the  brain, 

Till  like  a  writhing  storm 
Of  liquid  fi  e — the  heated  blood 

Goes  rushing  through  my  form  ! 
And  ghastly  phantoms  seem  to  rise 

And  scecr  and  scoff  in  glee, 
And  full  before  my  glaring  eyes 

Limn  all  my  infamy. 
But  I  must  back,  and  bravely  back 

To  that  infernal  time, 
When  back  from  Canada  T  came 

Big  with  thoughts  of  blood  and  crime. 
Came  as  some  mirky  cloud  that  looms 

At  noonday  on  the  hill, 
Surcharged  with  lightnings  dread  and  fierce, 

And  thunders  fell,  doom'dsoon  to  pierce. 
And  boom  through  half  the  universe. 

And  spread  o'er  it  a  blight  and  curse, 
When  all  is  bright  and  still. 

Ay,  destined  for  an  end  far  worse, 
To  waste,  to  slay  and  blast, 

The  happy  nation  to  submerse 
In  Sorrow's  ocean  vast. 

To  send  o'er  it  a  sable  hearse. 
And  agonizing  thrill, 

Just  as  Victory  grand  and  terse, 
Brought  Rapture,  as  a  healing  nurse 

Each  aching  breast  to  fill. 


'O 


LXI. 


Methinks  I  can  recall  the  day 

I  left  the  merry  shore 
Of  Canada,  where  heartily 

I  wish  myself  once  more, 
But  where  alas  I  ne'er  again 

Blay  ever  hope  to  tour. 
Around  me  on  that  sunny  day 

Throng'd  the  plotters  of  the  crime, 
Ay,  they  who  plann'd  and  plotted  it 

And  fix'd  the  awful  time. 
Men  whose  fell  spirits  only  thought 

Of  deeds,  of  sin  and  harm, 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  69 

Deeds  that  might  strike  the  fiends  of  hell 

With  terror  and  alarm, 
Ay,  make  them  tremble  fear  and  cower, 

And  yet  who  possess'd  the  power 
To  draw,  and  lure,  and  charm — 

Some  fool  like  me  within  their  plot 
Make  him  their  tool  and  arm. 

Yea,  they  were  heads  of  hellish  schemes, 
Fell  as  those  of  which  a  demon  dreams, 

But  never  once  the  men — 
To  lift  a  bold  and  sturdy  hand — 

To  deal  a  blow  in  plots  they  plann'd  ; 
Or  face  the  danger  when 

The  spark  that  into  flames  they  fann'd 
Swept  o'er  forest,  moor  and  f-^n. 

Making  Desolation  o'er  the  land 
Her  blasting  sable  wings  expand. 

They  were  always  missing  then 
Soon  as  they  dropped  the  burning  brand — 

They  forced  some  tool  of  theirs 
When  he  the  brunt  of  all  should  stand, 

Ilim  drove  in  traps  and  snares, 
While  they  far  ofi"  a  sneaking  scann'd 

His  tortures  and  his  throes; 
Nor  came  with  spirit  bold  and  grand 

To  share  his  griefs  and  woes. 
Came  not  to  share  with  him  the  crime, 

Nor  help  him  scape  the  rack, 
But  aid  to  damn  him  through  all  time — 

In  every  age  in  every  clime, 
And  loose  hounds  upon  his  track. 

They  think  if  they  should  mournful  seem 
Or  aught  of  friendship  show, 

For  him  who  carried  out  their  scheme 
Of  murder  vile  and  low, 

That  every  one  they  met  would  deem 
They  had  a  hand  in  it, 

And  if  him  they  strove  to  screen 
From  law  and  justice,  suspicion  keen 

Would  soon  upon  them  sit, 
So  'twould  be  folly  most  extreme, 

Foolish  as  a  maniac's  dream, 
All  void  of  sense  and  wit. 

So  they  leave  him  to  his  fate 
Whatever  it  may  be, 

Ay,  to  the  people's  wrath  and  hate, 
As  they  've  abondon'd  me. 

But  I  remember  how  they  swore 
To  give  me  help  and  aid. 

When  ever  dangers  fell  and  sore 
Should  be  around  me  laid. 


70  THE     PRiESIDICIDK. 

They  swore  by  the  eternal  God 
That  through  all  future  time — 

No  matter  where  on  earth  I  trod, 
Wh:itever  deck  or  clime, 

That  I  should  feel  no  scourging  rod, 
Nor  mourn  the  deed  of  crime. 

And  wealth  they  swore  that  I  should  have, 
Yea,  such  vast  piles  of  gold  — 

That  Croesus'  ample  coifers 
The  half  could  never  hold, 

That  soon  as  I  the  deed  should  brave. 
It  should  to  me  be  told. 

And  where  is  it  ?  and  where  are  they 
Upon  this  woeful  nighf.  ? 

Far  away  from  me,  and  perhaps 
Now  laughing  at  my  plight, 

'J  hey  would  not  give  now  so  much 
As  e'en  the  widow's  mite  ; 

Nor  will  they  lift  a  hand  to  save 
Me  from  the  gallows  and  the  grave. 

LXII. 

Ah,  ray  God  I  what  a  fool  was  I 

To  herd  with  men  so  vile, 
And  swallow  down  each  crafty  lie 

They  breathed  to  me  the  while. 
Men  black  with  foul  dishonor's  dye, 

And  stecp'd  in  craft  and  guile ; 
And  yet  I  loved  thrse  devils  sly. 

And  doted  on  their  smile. 
I  deem'd  their  hearts  were  warm  and  true. 

And  that  they  meant  to  bear  mo  through  ; 
They  clasped  me  by  the  hand — 

And  told  me  of  the  plot,  and  drew 
Me  in  the  scheme  they  plann'd. 

"Now  list  to  us"  they  thus  began, 
"We  know  you  bold  and  brave. 

That  ne'er  a  more  courageous  man 
Has  ever  faced  the  battle's  van, 

On  land  or  ocean's  wave. 
We  know  your  heart  is  true  as  steel. 

Would  ne'er  in  scenes  of  danger  reel, 
But  be  firm  as  adamant. 

That  you  are  stalwart  brave  and  leal, 
And  after  fame  doth  pant, 

And  would  sooner  die  than  e'er  reveal ; 
What  so  e'er  you  swear  to  conceal ; 

Though  it  caused  you  more  of  woe  than  weal — 
O'er  it  you  would  not  rant, 

But  onward  press  with  daring  zeal, 
E'en  when  all  other  hearts  would  feel 


THE     PRiESIDICIDE.  71 

That  hope  was  not  extant. 
And  so  we  give  to  you  the  task 

To  risk  the  daring  deed, 
To  work  the  plot,  and  all  we  ask — 

That  you  o'er  it  will  keep  a  mask, 
If  it  should  not  succeed, 

Ne'er  use  so  free  the  burning  bowl 
That  it  may  e'er  mislead 

Your  daring  reckless  tongue  and  soul, 
So  others  may  the  plot  unroll. 

And  bring  us  into  harm  ; 
Do  you  but  act  discreet  and  wise, 

And  we'll  take  the  nation  by  surprise, 
And  shake  it  with  alarm. 

Yea,  by  one  bold  vigorous  blow 
We  will  the  Northern  states  o'erthrow, 

Upset  their  law  and  rule, 
Spread  anarchy,  and  ruin  wide, 

And  humble  all  their  strength  and  pride 
To  weakness,  woe  and  dule  ! 

Now  list  to  what  we've  schemed  and  plann'd. 
The  foremost  of  the  Federal  land 

We  must  assassinate. 
Lincoln,  Johnson,  Seward,  and  all 

The  Cabinet  both  great  and  small, 
Alike  must  share  that  fate. 

The  task  is  easy  unto  one 
As  bold  and  brave  as  you, 

One  who  was  never  known  to  shun 
A  daring  deed,  nor  fear  nor  run 

AVhen  dangers  round  him  grew 
Ay,  with  some  dozen  men  like  you 

Whose  souls  in  danger's  hour  are  true, 
Whose  nerves  are  sure  and  strong. 

Upon  some  dark  and  stormy  night 
You  might  put  all  their  souls  to  flight. 

Send  them  to  endless  gloom  or  light. 
Then  arise  in  power  and  might. 

Be  themes  for  tale  and  song. 
Such  dread  confusion  and  misrule 

Mix'd  with  dark  horror  and  with  dule. 
Such  strife  and  anarchy, 

Such  overthrow  of  all  the  laws 
Will  then  ensue,  that  none  will  pause 

To  seek  the  monsters  who  did  cause 
The  woe  and  agony. 

Ay,  all  so  terrible  and  dread 
And  fell  will  be  the  times — 

That  none  will  ever  dare  to  seek 
The  authors  of  the  crimes. 

For  each  will  be  afraid  to  trust 


72  THE     PR^SIDICIDE. 

His  neighbor  at  his  side, 

Lest  he  an  archfiend  traitor  be, 
And  murder,  rapine,  robbery. 

Will  thunder  far  and  wide. 
And  then  if  3-ou'll  be  bold  and  brave, 

And  each  one  of  your  fierce  conclave 
Would  to  yourselves  be  true — 

You'll  fear  no  fools  who  dare  to  rave, 
And  throw  the  crime  on  you, 

And  if  you  find  so  bold  a  fool — 
Soon  have  him  close  confined. 

Him  treat  to  gallows  or  the  knife. 
And  force  in  every  mind — 

He  was  an  author  of  the  crime. 
And  that  you  only  strive 

To  gUiira  and  shield  your  native  clime, 
And  keep  its  laws  alive. 

Soon  ynu  will  scatter  in  dismay 
Each  secret  waspish  hive 

Of  men,  who  aught  against  you  say, 
Or  plots  'gahist  you  contrive. 

Do  you  right  fearless  seize  the  helm. 
And  all  the  reins  that  guide  the  realm, 

Alike  of  church  and  ptafe, 
Nor  fear  that  aught  shall  you  o'crwhelm, 

Be  bold  and  firm  as  fate. 
And  soon  unto  your  aid  will  come 

The  armies  of  the  South, 
All  will  be  law  within  the  land 

That  issu  es  from  your  mouth, 
Those  who  hate  you  will  be  afraid 

'Gainst  you  to  Hit  a  hand. 
They  will  be  instantly  dismay'd, 

Soon  as  they  see  your  friends  array'd. 
And  round  you  take  their  stand. 

Thousands  will  flock  unto  your  aid 
And  keep  you  in  command. 

All  the  South  will  on  you  confer 
A  blessing  through  all  time, 

And  hail  you  its  deliverer 
From  the  sironjr  Northern  clime. 

Though  the  task  be  easy,  it  is  true 
Fell  dangers  hover  round, 

One  miss  step  in  it  may  make  us  rue 
And  bring  us  to  the  ground. 

Let  prudence,  caution,  selfcontrol, 
Be  aye  at  your  command, 

See  each  be  a  true  and  trusty  soul 
Who  in  it  takes  a  hand. 

Thus  kingdoms  have  been  won  by  men 
Who  had  the  soul  and  nerve 


THE    PB^SIDICIDJC  73 

To  strike  for  them,  ay,  men  wliom  nouglit 
From  high  intents  could  swerve. 

Men  who  shall  never  be  forgot, 
Their  aims,  nor  deeds,  nor  names, 

But  still  across  the  world  shall  stream 
Bright  as  the  Northern  flames. 

Be  alike  the  terror  and  the  dread, 
And  joy  of  human  kind, 

Their  names  aye  make  the  tyrant  quake, 
And  cheer  the  martyr's  mind. 

So  say  you'll  undertake  the  deed 
And  win  a  deathless  name, 

Win  wealthy  honor,  rank,  and  power, 
And  everlasting  fame." 

LXIII. 

I've  heard  that  serpents  have  the  power 

To  draw,  and  charm,  and  lure, 
The  lion  in  their  hideous  coil 

And  hold  him  there  secure. 
And  that  the  huntsman  far  away 

Though  strong,  and  brave,  and  bold, 
They  draw  beneath  their  magic  spell 

Within  their  awful  fold. 
I've  heard  the  Ignis  Fatuus 

Oft  dclu'les  and  misleads  men, 
From  off  their  fair  and  open  path 

Into  some  loathsome  fen. 
And  that  still  on  they  follow  it 

As  bound  by  charm  or  spell. 
Until  the  moss  beneath  them  breaks, 

And  they  tread  the  frightful  well. 
I've  heard  Caprea's  fatal   Sirens 

Far  sweeter  songs  could  sing, 
Than  those  with  which  the  muses  made 

The  courts  of  heaven  ring. 
And  that  the  seaman  far  away 

Who  chanced  to  hear  their  strain 
Would  needs  approach  their  fatal  shore, 

And  die  a  death  of  pain. 
I've  heard  that  poison'd  deadly  fruit 

Is  sweeter  to  the  taste, 
And  far  more  pleasing  to  the  eye, 

Than  that  which  of  the  fatal  dye 
Is  pure,  and  clean  and  chaste. 

I've  heard  there  are  men  who  a  charm 
And  spell  and  power  possess, 

A  mysterious  influence. 
Which  they  throw  o'er  men,  and  ever  hence 

Can  hold  them  in  duress. 
And  then  by  look,  or  nod,  or  sign, 


74 .  'm^     PKiESlDICIDE. 

With  all  power  and  ease — 
Can  make  them  do  and  act  for  them. 

Ay,  lead  them  where  they  please. 
And  I  believe  those  treacherous  men 

Who  urged  me  on  to  crime, 
Who  plann'd  the  murder  dark  and  foul, 

And  fix'd  it  S  awful  time — 
Possess'd  infernal  charms  and  spells — 

Not  own'd  by  all  mankind, 
Not  e'en  by  all  who  ever  are 

To  deeds  of  hell  inclined. 
Not  e'en  by  all  of  those  the  good 

And  virtuous  condemn. 
For  ever  since  that  fatal  day 

That  first  I  met  with  them — 
And  leagued  in  their  dark  schemes  of  crime, 

Of  horror  and  of  wrath, 
No  power  had  I  to  check  my  course, 

Or  ever  shun  their  path, 
I  \a.y  beneath  their  will  and  rule 

As  'neath  a  serpent's  charm, 
I  could  not  see  they  urged  me  on 

To  future  woe  and  harm. 
They  knew  I'd  ever  court  the  path 

W  here  dangers  fell  were  found, 
Nor  e'er  one  moment  pause  to  see 

How  vast  they  hover'd  round. 
They  knew  that  I  was  easy  led 

By  artful  men  like  them, 
So  me  they  profFer'd  boundless  wealth, 

A  throne  and  diades]. 
To  prompt  me  on  to  dare  their  schemes 

Deeds  which  they  fear'd  to  do, 
For  which  they  knew  full  well  that  I 

Would  ever  mourn  and  rue. 
But  wherefore  shnuld  they  care  for  that 

Just  so  they  gain'd  their  aims, 
They  knew  the  crime  would  rest  on  me 

And  ne'er  would  taint  their  names. 
They  knew  I  was  a  thoughtless  man, 

A  daring  wayward  fool, 
The  man  for  them  to  choose  and  make 

Their  champion  and  their  tool. 

LXIV. 

Men  say  the  age  of  this  round  world 

Is  but  six  thousand  years. 
But  through  Geology  I  swear 

It  older  far  appears. 
For  rocks  around  this  world  abound 

In  every  sea  and  clime, 


THE     PR^SIDICIDE.  75 

That  would  have  ta'en  to  form  their  growth 

Two  million  years  of  time. 
And  if  it  is  two  million  years 

Since  earth  its  course  began, 
Since  fresh  from  God's  own  hand  it  sprung 

All  molded  to  His  plan — 
Oh  !  what  countless,  countless  millions 

Of  us  frail  human  kind, 
Must  then  have  lived  and  died  on  earth 

And  been  to  dust  consigned. 
They  've  been  countless  as  the  grains  of  sand 

That  lie  on  ocean's  shore, 
And  those  that  lie  in  dusert  wastes 

O'er  which  the  Simooms  roar, 
More  countless  than  the  drops  of  rain 

That  now  from  heaven  fall. 
Numberless  as  the  yearly  leaves 

That  crown  the  forests  tall. 
They've  been  so  vast  there's  no  blade  of  grass 

That  waves  unto  the  storm, 
But  springs  from  atoms  that  erst  made  up 

A  living  human  form, 
And  yet  I  verily  believe 

'Mongst  all  those  millions  vast 
That  through  this  trying  world  of  woe 

From  life  to  death  have  past — 
There  never  breathed  a  blinder  fool 

Than  me  in  every  way, 
Nor  men  more  steep'd  iu  craft  and  guile 

And  treacherous  than  they. 

LXY. 

By  Heaven,  I  exclaimed  !  I  swear 

To  do  the  thing  proposed,  • 

If  I  fail  mav  these  eyes  of  mine 

Ri^ht  swift  in  death  be  closed. 
Ay,  let  me  die,  torn  in  a  cloud 

By  angry  ghosts  of  men. 
So  that  I  never  pine  or  die 

Within  a  dungeon  den. 
But  if  I  fail  'twill  be  because 

The  hand  of  God  was  near. 
Opposed  the  deed,  and  smote  me  down 

With  palsy  and  with  fear. 
A  fitter  champion  than  I 

Ye  never  could  have  found. 
Had  ye  travel'd  o'er  all  the  world, 

And  search'd  it  round  and  round. 
I  swear  that  back  I'll  never  come 

Till  I  have  braved  the  deed, 
And  me,ye  ne'er  again  shall  see 


("6  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

If  I  sTiould  not  succeed. 
Yea.  never  more  in  Montreal 

My  foot  shall  tread,  my  shadow  fall, 
My  voice  again  be  heard. 

And  cursed  be  he  within  the  plot, 
Yes    whether  it  succeed  or  not, 

Who  is  so  void  of  soul  and  wit 
As  to  betray  one  leaguea  in  it. 

By  hint,  or  deed,  or  word. 
Arid  if  it  ever  be  my  fate 

To  meet  him  once  again, 
Right  face  to  face  ia  tavern  hall, 

In  street  or  open  plain. 
His  life  shall  answer  for  the  deed. 

And  none  will  ever  know — 
I  gave  the  s^^rvile  pratinc;  wretch 

The  swift  and  fatal  blow. 
If  I  succeed  in  this  emprise, 

For  by  my  soul  I  will, 
Yea  truly  as  the  sua  now  sinks 

Uehind  yon  sombre  hill. 
To  every  one  who  gives  me  aid 

And  shields  me  from  the  crime, 
And  will  uphold  what'er  I   do 

At  any  place  or  tim<^, 
I  will  reward  his  services, 

And  all  his  toils  repay — 
With  posts  of  honor,  wealth,  and  power, 

Give  him  abroad  and  ample  dower. 
Dominion  and  wide  sway. 

I  will  forget  no  friend  nor  foe 
Who  breathes  this  vital  air. 

So  let  all  a  fair  warning  take 
•       And  of  their  deeds  beware. 

And  now  I  g)  to  deal  the  blow, 
Empire  is  mine  aim, 

And  ere  a  year  goes  round,  wide  o'er 
The  world  shall  stream  my  name. 

Soon  as  we  spring  t^  rank  and  power. 
And  fix  ourselves  secure. 

When  we  our  might  establish 
So  it  shall  aye  endure — 

High  times  we'll  have  for  sport  and  mirth, 
Aud  pleasures  that  allure. 

And  charm  the  soul  of  mortal  man. 
And  if  we  chance  to  find 

The  people  do  not  like  our  rule 
And  'gainst  us  set  their  mind, 

Then  instantly  we  will  d  dare 
War  'gainst  some  foreign  land. 

And  send  ofi"  our  coemics 


T*^ 


THE    PRiESIDICIDE.  77 

To  fight  upon  that  strand. 

England  is  aye  ready  for  war, 
'Gainst  her  the  strife  we'll  wage, 

By  doing  it  we  will  avert 
The  rabble's  hate  and  rage 

A  war  with  her  would  last  so  long 
'Twould  give  us  ample  time — 

To  fix  our  selves  secure, 
And  free  ourselves  of  crime. 

No  matter  how  the  war  might  end 
One  thing  is  true  and  plain, 

Hy  it  we'll  thin  out  those  who  hate 
The  way  we  rule  and  reign. 

And  then  meanwhile  we'll  rise  so  high 
In  wealth,  and  rank,  and  power, 

That  all  our  foes  beneath  our  frown 
Will  tremble  quail  and  cower. 

And  then  not  one  within  the  land 
Would  venture  or  would  dare — 

Ay,  think  so  little  of  his  neck 
As  throw  at  us  a  sneer. 

Or  whisper  we  were  guilty  of 
The  crime  in  any  way, 

Or  even  hint  we  had  no  right 
The  realm  to  rule  and  sway. 

And  in  the  eyes  of  all  the  wqrld 
I'll  stand  so  grand  and  high, 

That  no  foreigi  power  will  blend 
My  name  with  infamy. 

But  yield  to  me  the  homage  due 
My  rank  and  power  will  claim, 

They'll  seek  niy  love,  and  shun  my  rage, 
And  glory  in  my  name. 

For  those  whuse  souls  Ambition  stirs 
To  posts  of  hitih  renown, 

If  Fortune  standcth  by  their  side, 
Success  their  aims  should  crown, 

No  matter  by  what  cuds  they're  gain'd — 
Though  it  be  deadly  sin, 

They're  counted  hemes  by  the  world 
Soon  as  their  points  they  win. 

But  he  who  Fortune  casts  aside, 
Nor  aids  to  gain  his  aims, 

Thouiih  keenest  honor  guides  him  on 
And  all  his  soul  inflames, 

lie  wins  the  curses  of  the  world, 
Its  hatred  and  its  fruwn, 

Yea,  all  his  fellowmcn  combine 
To  crush  and  hurl  him  down. 

Thief,  villain,  traitor,  wretch  and  fool, 
These  are  the  mildest  names — 


78  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

For  those  whom  Fortune  favors  not, 
Though  high  and  grand  their  aims. 

And  now  I'll  strike  with  all  my  might 
For  rank,  and  wealth,  and  fame, 

I'll  win  or  die  in  the  attempt 
An  everlasting  name. 

So  farewell,  and  once  more  farewell, 
Let's  feel  each  grasp  again, 

Haste,  be  quick  and  swift  as  lightning, 
For  yonder  comes  the  Train. 

There,  there,  'tis  done, — and  now  I  go, 
E'en  though  I  wend  in  vain 

E'en  though  it  brings  me  less  of  weal, 
Than  woe  and  ghastly  pain. 

LXVI. 

I  leap'd  upon  the  Railway  Train^ 

And  as  it  steamM  away 
I  cast  one  anxious  look  behind. 

And  took  my  last  survey — 
Of  those  fell  villains  who  combined 

As  with  one  heart  and  with  one  mind — 
To  make  me  their  victim  and  their  tool, 

Because  I  was  a  reckless  fool. 
As  wayward  and  as  bold  a  man — 

As  e'er  midst  scenes  of  horror  r:in 
Since  earth  and  sea  tbeir  course  began. 

And  they  sly  and  sharp  as  any  c'ique — 
That  ever  aim'd  themselves  to  pique 

As  masters  of  all  guile  ; 
Yea  as  ever  sought  to  stand  unique 

In  art  of  subtlest  wile  ! 
Whilst  gazing  on  that  cunning  league 

Of  exiled  traitors  there. 
Those  basest  villains  of  intrigue 

That  ever  trod  this  sphere ; 
I  saw  upon  their  features  play 

A  bright  and  lively  smile, 
And  I  was  such  a  thoughtless  fool 

To  fancy  all  the  while — 
They  smiled  in  admiration  of 

My  courage  prompt  and  true, 
That  in  their  souls  they  reverenced  me, 

With  all  the  homage  due — 
To  some  bold  warrior  of  old  time, 

Who  with  sword,  shield,  and  helm, 
Singly  fought  the  Paynim  hosts 

And  did  their  hordes  o'erwhelm. 
But  now  I  know  full  well  it  must 

Have  been  a  smile  of  scorn. 
Of  hate,  derision  and  contempt 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

That  did  their  brows  adorn. 
It  was  that  cunning  subtle  smile 

That  almost  looks  sublime. 
Known  to  none  but  mortals  of  their  style, 

Men  who  are  steeped  in  craft  and  guile, 
Yea,  who  are  alchemists  in  wile, 

And  every  heinous  crime, 
Men  sprung  from  hell's  own  teeming  school 

Of  sin  and  infamy, 
Men  who  can  look  all  mild  and  cool 

Whilst  plotting  felony. 
And  quickly  coax  some  brainless  fool 

To  be  their  champion  and  their  tool, 
When'er  they  wish  a  priceless  pool 

Of  blood  and  carnage  spilt, 
Charm  them  by  some  power  or  spell, 

To  dark  malicious  deeds  of  hell. 
Deeds  foul  and  horrible  and  fell. 

And  throw  a  charm  o'er  guilt. 
Hell  how  they  must  have  laugh'd  and  chuckled 

In  full  contempt  at  me. 
And  ridiculed  the  brainless  wretch 

Who  had  not  eyes  to  see — ■ 
How  he  was  guU'd  and  humbugged  on 

To  be  their  butt  and   tool. 
Great  God  !  they  must  have  look'd  on  me 

As  the  most  rash  brain'd  fool. 
The  most  egregious  senseless  knave 

That  ever  trod  on  earth, 
Or  fill'd  a  lone  unhonor'd  grave 

Since  this  wide  world  had  birth. 
Now  part  of  the  foul  plot  is  done, 

And  that  part  done  by  me, 
They  must  curse  me  for  its  failure 

And  sneer  in  raillery. 
If  there's  one  galling  thing  on  earth 

Beyond  all  other  dule, — 
'Tis  to  become  the  sport  and  mirth, 

The  jest  and  ridicule, 
The  serf,  the  servant,  and  the  slave. 

The  victim  and  the  tool, 
The  butt,  the  scullion,  and  the  knave, 

The  dupe,  and  ass,  and  fool 
Of  surreptitious  fiends  like  these. 

Men  school'd  in  every  crime. 
That  yet  the  devil  tnught  to  man 

Through  all  revolving  time. 
Oh,  cursed  be  all  their  days  on  earth ! 

Ay,  every  liour  they  live, 
May  they  ne'er  feel  one  ray  of  mirth, 

Nor  hope  one  solace  give. 


79 


80  THE    PRiESIDICIDE. 

Cursed  be  the  very  air  they  breathe 

Through  life,  aud  when  they  die 
May  flames  of  woe  around  them  wreathe 

With  tenfold  agony. 
'Twas  they  who  phuin'd  and  schemed  the  way 

To  shed  the  priceless  blood, 
Take  the  life  of  the  noblest  man 

That  ever  since  the  world  began 
Has  gazed  on  land  or  flood. 

Yea,  they  devised  the  felon  plot, 
The  dark  malicious  crime, 

By  God  and  man  they  shall  be  cursed 
Through  all  revolving  time, 

Ilark  !  hark  !  a  voice  rings  in  my  ear, 
I  hear  it  whisper  loud  and  clear, 

"Fell  devil  hold  thy  curse, 
Wretch,  traitor,  villain,  murderer, 

Thy  curses  to  thyself  transfer, 
For  Felon  thou  art  worse — 

Than  all  that  base  malicious  throng- 
That  plann'd  the  deed  of  sin  and  wrong, 

Of  horror  and  of  gloom. 
That  sent  the  valiant  and  the  strong 

Unto  the  silent  tomb, 
Thine  was  the  arm  that  dealt  the  blow. 

Thine  was  the  hand  that  laid  him  low. 
All  cowardly  and  fell, 

More  cowardly  in  every  wise 
Than  any  demon  could  devise. 

That  ever  roam'd  through  hell. 
For  it  thou  shall  be  damn'd  and  cursed 

Through  all  the  flight  of  time, 
Be  deem'd  the  fiercest  fiend  and  worst, 

That  e'er  through  hell's  barriers  burst, 
And  came  to  practice  crime 

Amongst  the  suns  of  men,  yes  thou 
With  willing  heart  and  smiling  brow, 

Aim'd  the  fatal  bullet  at  his  head, 
And  laid  our  best  and  noblest  dead, 

X'ause  he  strove  to  keep  the  nation  free 
Of  dark  misrule  and  anarchy, 

And  laid  rebellion  low  ; 
Because  he  never  injured  thee. 

Nor  caused  thee  aught  of  woe  ! 
The  noble  land  that  gave  thee  birth, 

Which  above  all  things  on  earth — 
Thou  shouldst  have  loved  with  heart  and  soul, 

Let  nought  on  earth  that  love  control. 
Thou  strovest  to  crush  and  overthrow, 

To  ruin  and  despoil. 
To  hurl  in  anarchy  and  woe. 


THE    PRiESIDICIDE.  81 

And  bloody  fierce  turmoil. 
In  Danger's  deepest^  darkest  gurpe, 

And  sea,  thou  wouldst  engulf  her, 
Make  Tumult  o'er  her  howl  and  surge 

With  storms  of  flame  and  sulphur. 
For  it  by  her  thou  shalt  be  cursed 

While  her  existence  runs, 
Be  deem'd  the  basest  and  the  worst 

Of  all  her  erring  sons. 
So  groan  amidst  the  midnight  gloom 

With  anguish  fell  and  vast, 
Rave,  howl  above  thy  empty  tomb 

Unto  the  roaring  blast, 
For  thou  shalt  meet  thy  awful  doom 

That  is  approaching  fast." 

LXVII. 

0  !  that  this  bitter  agony 

Of  body  and  of  mind — 
Would  snap  in  twain  the  cord  of  life 

That  binds  them  in  this  world  of  strife, 
And  let  them  seek  and  find 

That  rest  and  respite  in  the  grave, 
Which  death  alone  can  bring, 

For  I  would  fain  believe  that  creed, 
That  wild  imagining, 

That  when  the  humao  body  dies. 
Its  immortal  soul  remains 

Forever  where  the  carcass  lies, 
Free  alike  of  joys  and  pains. 

Without  a  thrill  of  joy  or  weal. 
Or  pang  of  grim  despair, 

Without  a  thought  of  heavenly  bliss, 
Or  earthly  woe  or  care, 

It  sits  forever  gazing  on 
Its  carcass  'neath  the  sod, 

Or  'neath  the  wave,  unseen  of  all 
Except  the  eye  of  God. 

And  when  liis  awful  trumpet  sounds 
Through  seas  and  earth's  remotest  bounds, 

Calls  the  dead  to  life  again 
Yea,  all  who  molder  on  the  world, 

All  who  from  place  to  place  are  hurl'd 
Within  the  howling  main. 

Their  souls  and  forms  again  unite. 
In  serene  and  endless  prime, 

Then  soar  to  rapture  and  delight. 
Freed  of  all  their  earthly  crime. 

Forgiven  all  their  deeds  on  earth, 
And  every  thought  that  gave  them  birth, 

Through  the  eternal  love  of  Him 


82  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Who  died  on  Calvery^ 

Who  sits  between  the  Cherubim, 
And  ever  there  shall  be — 

To  plead  for  guilty  man,  and  all 
The  children  of  this  world, 

So  that  their  spirits  may  not  be 
To  utter  darkness  hurl'd. 

LXVIII. 

Oh  !  that  I'd  been  born  a  Hindoo  chief, 

Reard  'mongst  the  Imaus  fells, 
Where  the  rapid  Indus  plunges, 

Bellows  throush  the  flinty  dells. 
And  where  the  blasts  and  hurricanes 

In  endless  fury  blow — 
O'er  the  terrific  avalanche, 

And  everlasting  snow. 
Yea,  where  those  enormous  masses 

To  heaven  their  foreheads  throw, 
And  vast  eternal  shadows  fling 

Across  the  vales  below. 
Above  whose  grand  stupendous  peaks 

And  adamantine  walls — 
Aye  eagle  unto  eagle  screams. 

To  vulture  vulture  calls. 
Where  o'er  the  torrent  broad  and  deep, 

And  grim,  unfathomed  gulf, 
The  panther  and  the  tiger  leap. 

And  ever  howling  wulf. 
I'd  wander'd  where  Jamootri  stands 

Wrapt  in  his  icy  shrouds, 
And  where  tall  Dhaiboon  frowns 

Amidst  a  night  of  clouds. 
Where  Kunchinginga's  brows  are 

Heights  on  heights  stupendous  hurl'd. 
Where  Braiaa  sits  with  wrathful  eye 

And  views  the  erring  world. 
With  meteor  standard   there  he  sits 

Wide  waves  his  flowing  robe. 
And  never  moves  his  eager  eye 

From  off  the  rolling  globe. 
Like  the  Hindoo  I  had  gnzod  with  awe 

On  the  cloudcapped  height,  thought  I  saw 
His  sublime  and  awful  form 

And  fancied  that  I  he:nd  his  voice 
'Midst  torrent  and  the  flood  rejoice, 

The  lightning  and  the  storm. 
Fancied  no  matter  what  I  did 

Let  it  been  good  or  ill — 
That  it  was  l>rama  urged  me  on 

And  that  I  worked  his  will. 


THE    PRiESTDICIDE.  83 

Oh  !  had  I  been  born  a  Hindoo, 

And  cradled  in  their  creed, 
Rocked  in  superstition's  bower, 

Then  I'd  been  bless'd  in  deed 
My  mind  like  theirs  would  have  been  train'd 

To  fancy,  think  and  feel, 
All  those  I  loathed  within  this  world 

Should  perish  by  my  steel. 
Taught  to  think  every  one  I  loathed 

Was  Brama's  mortal  foe, 
And  that  for  Brama's  sake  and  mine 

I  should  aye  strike  him  low. 
That  if  I  chanced  to  let  him  live 

And  prosper  in  this  world, 
If  in  a  dark  untimely  grave 

He  ne'er  by  me  was  hurl'd, 
That  Brama's  burning  wrath  and  hate 

Would  ever  glow  for  me^ 
His  eternal  bowers  of  bliss 

Mine  eye  should  never  see. 
Had  I  been  tutored  in  that  creed, 

I  had  not  felt  as  no.w, 
Dark  sorrow  had  not  torn  my  soul, 

Nor  anguish  gloom'd  my  brow. 
Instead  of  seeming  base  and  foul 

To  make  a  good  man  bleed — 
It  would  have  then  appear'd  to  me 

A  just  and  riijhteous  deed. 
And  I  had  gloried  in  the  act 

At  every  move  and  turn. 
For  it  my  breast  had  ever  been 

Bright  joy  and  rapture's  urn. 
And  1  had  callous  grown  to  crime 

As  the  flinty  rocks  that  sleep — 
'Neath  everlasting  snow  upon 

Himalaya's  frozen  steep. 
Oh  !  I  had  never  felt  remorse 

For  any  deed  of  crime. 
Conscience  would  ne'er  have  smitten  me 

As  at  this  awful  time. 
Curse  on  these  thoughts,  I  know  not  why 

They  cleave  around  me  so, 
I  strive  to  drive  them  from  my  mind, 

But  still  they  come  and  go. 
As  blasts  that  o'er  the  desert  waste 

Are  sweeping  to  and  fro. 

LXIX. 

When  T  arrived  in  Washington 

Gayly  I  spent  my  time, 
For  'twas  an  easy  task  to  find. 


84  THE    PRiESiniCIDK. 

Men  who  immediately  combined 
With  me  to  work  the  crime. 

The  very  hour  I  arrived 
"Within  the  fatal  town 

Though  it  was  night,  and  wild  with  storms, 
And  rain  was  pouring  down, 

Right  straight  to  Dame  Surratt's  I  went 
And  told  her  of  the  scheme. 

And  how  I  sought  to  make  the  realm 
With  gore  and  carnage  stream. 

Madame,  I  said,  if  I  could  find 
Some  bold  and  venturous  men, 

To  aid  me  in  the  plot,  the  whole 
Were  sure  to  prosper  then. 

Nothing  would  then  be  left  undone 
In  any  shape  or  way, 

If  they  were  only  prompt  and  true, 
And  did  what  e'er  they  swore  to  do, 

And  would  my  words  obey. 
For  I  would  fix  the  time  for  them 

To  move  and  strike  with  me, 
I  to  each  one  will  give  his  ta&k 

No  matter  what  it  be. 
And  we  all  at  the  self  same  time 

Upon  some  mirky  ni<zht. 
When  no  one  dreams  of  ha'-m  or  crime 

Will  put  their  souls  to  flight. 
The  plot  is  far  too  large  for  me 

To  work  out  right  alone, 
But  if  thou'll  help  me  gain  some  help 

I  soon  will  mount  a  throne. 
And  then-  thy  fortune  will  be  made 

As  sure  as  we  are  here, 
Thy  services  be  well  repaid 

As  ever  mortal's  were. 
"By  heaven"  she  exclaim'd  "I  swear 

Thy  plot  's  a  noble  thing, 
And  all  the  aid  that  thou  shalt  need 

Unto  thy  side  I'll  bring. 
I'll  work  for  thee  in  storm  and  shine 

Let  weal  or  woe  betide, 
Thy  glorious  goal  I'll  aid.  thee  win 

Or  perish  by  thy  side. 
Ah,  Booth  !  oft  in  thine  infancy, 

I  have  rejoiced  the  while 
I've  held  and  rocked  thee  on  my  knee, 

And  watch'd  thy  infant  smile. 
I've  often  said  the  day  would  come 

If  to  the  age  of  man — 
It  should  please  the  Almighty's  will 

Thy  days  on  earth  should  span, 


THE    TR^SIDICIDE.  85 

Thou  wouldst  rise  and  tower  above 

The  common  herd  of  men  ; 
I  see  thoi^e  words  are  coming  true 

I  chanced  to  utter  then. 
And  so  let  good  or  ill  betide 

Thy  fortune's  mine  my  boy, 
All  I  can  do  or  say  for  thee 

I  will  with  utmost  joy, 
And  all  the  arts  and  wiles  I  own 

I  will  for  thee  employ. 
And  know,  long  as  I  live  thou  art 

Welcome  to  my  abode  ; 
But  thou  has  journey'd  far  and  long 

A  rough  and  weary  road. 
And  tired,  and  cold,  and  hungry, 

I  know  thou  now  must  be, 
So  pause  'till  I  bring  food  and  wine 

To  warm  and  comfort  thee." 

LXX. 

She  heap'd  the  board  with  food  and  wine, 

Yea,  of  the  choicest  kind. 
And  soon  I  felt  refresh'd  and  cheer'd 

In  body  and  in  mind 
Aha  !  were  such  a  feast  as  that 

But  spread  before  me  now, 
I  would  forget  my  broken  limb, 

Nor  heed  my  burning  brow. 
Right  long  we  sat  beside  the  board. 

And  long  we  talk'd  of  things, 
That  would  have  scared  the  fiend  away 

On  more  than  lightning  wings 
In  thought  a  hundred  times  and  more 

We  did  assassianate — 
All  those  the  cruel  plot  had  doom'd 

To  an  untimely  fate, 
And  we  gloried  in  the  deed 

As  the  devil  and  his  mate — 
Might  with  vast  rapture  glow  o'er  scenes 

Of  horror  and  of  hate. 
In  thought  dominion  far  and  near, 

And  wealth  were  all  my  own. 
In  thought  I  wore  a  kingly  crown, 

And  sat  upon  a  throne, 
With  trusty  nobles  at  my  side, 

And  armies  at  my  hand. 
And  I  was  owned  by  all  the  world 

As  monarch  of  the  land. 
Ah  !  thus  we  talked  and  thus  we  thought 

And  down  the  wine  we  pour'd, 
Till  I  from  toil  and  drunkenness 


86  THE     PRiESIDICIDE. 

Roird  down  beneath  the  board. 
These  were  the  last  sounds  of  that  night 

That  in  mije  ear  did  rins:, 
"Good  nisht  thou  brave  and  sturdy  chief 

Columbia's  future  king." 

LXXI. 

'Tis  strange  what  awful  visions  crawl 

Across  the  minds  of  men — 
When  sleep  has  wrapped  the  senses  all 

In  her  dark  mysterious  pall, 
And  how  they  haunt  them  then. 

How  those  visions  seem  to  torture  them, 
Round  them  cast  a  fiery  hem, 

And  awful  gulfs  of  woe, 
O'er  which  it  seems  they  needs  must  pass. 

And  face  the  scorching  glow. 
Keenly  we  feel  the  pangs  of  pain 

Through  all  our  being  go, 
It  seems  to  pass  before  the  mind 

As  though  'twere  really  so. 
That  night  as  o'erpnwered  with  wine 

I  slept  upon  the  floor, 
Fell  tremendous  scenes  of  horror 

Pass'd  all  my  mind  before. 
Which  chill'd  the  blood  within  my  veins 

And  rack'd  my  spirit  sore. 
Methought  I  sat  upon  a  hill — 

The  day  was  bright  and  cold, 
Far  away  in  a  gulf  below 
Potomac's  waters  roll'd, 
Lost  in  thought  I  gazed  on  the  spray 

'Twas  glorious  to  behold, 
For  'neatii  the  glowing  beams  of  day 

It  almost  looked  like  gold. 
When  lo  !  I  heard  a  distant  sound 

As  horse  hoofs  on  the  frozen  ground, 
And  instantly  I  turn'd  around, 
Saw  a  horseman  coming  on, 
As  up  the  rocky  hill  he  wound 

Like  gold  his  armor  shone. 
For  sheathed  was  he  from  head  to  heel 

In  glorious  panoply  of  steel, 
Hijih  upon  his  glittering  helm 

He  wore  a  snow  white  plume. 
His  steed  was  swift  as  sands  that  drift 

Before  the  red  Simoom, 
And  huge  and  strong  in  form  and  limb, 

And  whiter  than  the  foam 
That  clothes  the  Caribbean  seas 
When  forth  the  tempests  roam. 


THE    PRtESIDICIDE.  87 

While  I  gazed  upon  that  rider 

I  shook  with  deadly  awe, 
Although  such  men  in  ancient  days 

With  joy  the  people  saw. 
I  thought  of  Bayard  of  old  time, 

Of  godlike  Charlemagne, 
And  of  mighty  Ooeur  de  Lion 

Whose  armor  shone  like  flame. 
1  thought  of  valiant  Ivanhoe 

Whose  helmet  gleam' d  afar — 
'Midst  the  wreck  and  whirl  of  battle 

Like  some  transcendent  star. 
And  he  who  won  famed  Ivy's  field 

Bold  Henry  of  Navarre. 
And  thought  of  Alfred  afore  whose  wrath 

The  Dane  as  chaff  were  hurl'd. 
When  at  Eddinirton  their  magic  flac: 

Was  to  the  winds  unfurl'd. 
"Arise  and  come  with  me"  he  said 

With  voice  as  thunder  loud, 
"Arise  and  mount  and  ride  with  me 

On  whirlwind  and  on  cloud. 
We'll  ride  o'er  earthquake,  war  and  storm 

Through  fire,  light  and  gloom, 
And  o'er  the  bellowing  oceans. 

All  wrapped  in  clouds  of  spume." 

LXXIL 

Trembling  I  rose  at  his  command. 

And  vaulted  on  his  steed, 
Then  up  through  the  liquid  ether 

We  roJe  with  lightning  speed. 
At  every  stride  his  courser  took 

It  seem'd  a  thousand  miles. 
We  rode  o'er  kingdoms  and  dominions, 

O'er  continents  and  isles. 
"See  yonder"  said  the  deep  toned  voice, 

"Now  with  a  single  glance — 
Thou  canst  espy  fair  Italy, 

And  fields  of  sunny  France. 
And  yonder  o'er  yon  little  mere 

Stands  proud  Brittania's   clime, 
Where  I  was  born,  cradled,  and  rear'd 

To  manhood's  glowing  prime. 
And  for  whose  glory  and  renown 

I  warr'd  in  ancient  lime. 
Come  ope    thine  eyes  and  gaze  around 

And  look  upon  the  world, 
Beheld,  hosv  Etna's  snio!;c  and  flame 

In  waving  peaks  arc  curl'd, 
And  how  Vesuvius'  flames 


8S  THE    PRiESIDICIDK. 

Unto  the  skies  areliurl'd. 
Lo !  thou  canst  view  all  Europe's  range, 

And  that  vast  flood  that  lies — 
Between  it  and  those  hil  s  that  stand 

'Neath  Asia's  sunny  skies. 
There  are  the  Himalaya  fells 

Heights  on  heights  stupendous  hurl'd, 
Like  the  pillows  of  the  heavens 

Like  the  bulwarks  of  the  world. 
Those  enormous  heights  through  earthquakes 

And  volcanoes  had  their  birth, 
They  are  but  vast  upheavals  from 

The  bowels  of  the  earth. 
Lo  !  thf  re  are  Arabia's  wilds, 

The  land  of  Ishmael's  race, 
The  land  of  bold  and  hardy  chiefs 

In  battle  or  in  chase, 
And  yonder  is  wide  Africa 

Where  roaring  Niger  runs, 
Behold  her  waste  and  fertile  plains, 

And  see  her  sable  sons." 

LXXIII. 

He  ceased  and  o'er  the  spacious  world 

A  sudden  storm  arose, 
The  waves  of  ocean  lashed  the  skies, 

Earth  groan'd  with  awful  throes. 
Jhe  sun  was  hid  within  the  sky, 

And  darkness  fell  around — 
Darkness  far  drearer  than  the  tomb, 

And  horror  most  profound 
By  earthquakes  far  within  the  sea 

Ponderous  rocks  were  hurl'd, 
And  with  tumultuous  thunders  crashed 

The  mountains  of  the  worla. 
I  lay  within  that  warrior's  arms    . 

As  lifeless  as  a  stone, 
For  fell  tremendous  horror  thrilld 

Through  nerve,  and  vein,  and  bone, 
A  death  like  palsy  seized  my  frame, 

I  strove  to  cry,  no  murmur  came, 
All  power  of  voice  was  gnne. 

Proudly  midst  blast  and  hurricane 
He  reared  his  steel  clad  form. 

His  charger  neigh'd,  and  paw'd  the  clouds, 
And  galloped  on  the  storm. 

"Mortal,  the  strong  voice  said,"  fear  nought; 
No  harm  shall  you  befall. — 

As  Safe  upon  this  charger's  form 
You  ride  with  me  o'er  blast  and  storm, 

O'er  oceans  fierce,  volcanoes  warm. 


THE    PRiESIDICIDR. 

And  o'er  the  earthquake's  brawl, 
As  when  you  sit  in  sloth  and  ease 

Surrounded  with  earth's  luxuries, 

And  fann'd  by  summer's  balmy  breeze, 

Within  some  peaceful  hall." 

LXXIV. 

Then  from  the  crashing  elements 

Around,  above,  below, 
I  heard  a  song  of  prayer  and  praise 

To  the  Almighty  flow. 
Strong,  exultant,  grand,  harmonious, 

And  blissful  pure  sublime, 
It  rose,  and  swell'd,  and  roar'd,  and  roll'd, 

From  every  sea  and  clime. 
Glory  to  God  Almighty  ! 

They  sang  with  one  accord, 
Who  form'd,  and  made  and  fashion'd  U8 

And  shall  be  aye  adored. 
Father  Almighty!  we  are  Thine — 

By  Thy  will  we  live  and  move, 
And  all  our  glory  is — Thy 

Wondrous  power  to  prove. 
Pity,  and  mercy  have  on  us 

When  comes  Thy  day  of  wrath, 
Forever  guide  and  keep  us  on 

Thy  bless'd  and  righteous  path. 
Oh,  may  we  ne'er  too  deeply  feel 

Thy  anger  and  Thy  rod, 
For  we're  but  as  a  grain  of  sand 

Within  Thy  strong  eternal  hand 
Thou  just  and  holy  God  ! 

Oh,  Thou  who  form'd  the  earth  and  seaa, 
And  all  the  stars  and  heaven. 

Let  not  the  meanest  thing  Thou'st  form'd 
To  utter  night  be  driven, 

Let  mercy  unto  it  be  shown, 
And  Thy  kind  succor  given." 

LXXV. 

While  thus  they  sang  o'er  land  and  flood 

With  lightning  speed  we  past. 
Our  charger  pawed  the  swarthy  cloud, 

And  snuff"'d  the  storm  and  blast. 
We  pass'd  o'er  nations  wrapped  in  bloom, 

And  winter's  snowy  robe. 
We  rode  o'er  every  land  and.  flood 

Upon  the  spMcious  globe. 
We  rode  o'er  nations  rent  with  war, 

And  heard  their  battles  roar, 
We  saw  their  armies  meet  in  strife, 


8^ 


90  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

We  saw  the  awful  waste  of  life 


The  fields  piled  high  with  carnage  rife, 

And  drenched  with  reeking  gore. 
Saw  standards  reeling  to  and  fro, 

Heard  trumpets  blare  and  bugles  blow, 
Heard  the  drums  beating  foe  on  foe, 

Heard  the  victor's  shouts,  and  groans  of  woe 
Of  those  poor  wretches  trampled  low 

By  chargers  in  the  moor. 
These  sounds  and  sights  I  saw  and  heard 

And  terror  thrill  d  my  frame, 
I  could  not  stir,  I  could  not  speak, 

Though  tears  ran  down  my  pallid  cheek  ; 
Soon  burst  a  flash  of  flame — 

So  sudden  and  so  swift  'twas  sent 
Across  the  cloudy  firmament, 

And  all  its  robe  of  darkness  rent, 
That  o'er  my  vision  came — 

A  deep  impenetrable  night, 
All  was  blank  vacancy, 

I  heard  no  sound,  I  saw  no  sight, 
I  could  not  hear  nor  see. 

A  sickness  crept  upon  my  heart,    • 
And  dizzy  swam  my  brain, 

I  felt  an  icy  chillness  sweep 
Through  nerve,  and  pulse,  and  vein ; 

Methough  those  terrors  vast  and  fell 
Soon  froze  my  senses  o'er. 

And  wrapt  my  mind  in  death-like  sleep, 
And  that  I  thought  no  more. 

LXXVI. 

How  long  in  that  deep  trance  I  lay — 

That  swoon  so  strange  and  fell, 
Or  where  that  horseman  carried  me 

No  clue  have  I  to  tell. 
At  length  the  gradual  light  of  life 

Came  dawning  o'er  my  soul. 
Huge,  cold,  death-like  drops  of  sweat  I  felt 

Adown  my  forehead  roll. 
On — on — still  on — I  plainly  felt 

That  horseman  held  his  course — 
With  more  than  lightning  speed  and  more 

Than  mountain  torrent's  force. 
Plainly  one  moment  o'er  oceans  vast 

Although  I  could  not  see,  he  past 
Full  well  I  felt  and  knew. 

The  next  o'er  burning  drifting  sands 
Where  Simooms  roar'd,  or  forest  lands, 

Or  dizzy  heichts  we  flew. 
"Mortal  awake''  the  deep  voice  spake, 


THE    PKiESIDIGIDK.  91 

And  sliook  my  rigid  form, 
Then  blood  went  bounding  through  my  veins 

And  soon  my  heart  grew  warm. 
"Now  Mortal   (ipe  thine  eyes  and  look 

Around  with  joy  and  mirth, 
Fear  not  for  thou  art  back  again 

Upon  thy  mother  earth, 
Yea,  and  on  the  glorious  realm 

That  deigned  to  give  thee  birth. 
Since  thou  hast  pass'd  o'er  every  land 

O'er  which  proud  Phoebus  smiles, 
See,  if  there's  a  fairer  one  than  this 

'Mongst  continents  and  isles." 

LXXVII. 

'Twas  on  a  flowery  mountain 

That  almost  touch'd  the  skies, 
Where  then  I  founu  myself,  when  I 

Ope'd  my  wandering  eyes. 
Heights  upon  heights  stupendous  piled, 

Masses  on  masses  hurl'd 
That  mountain  rose,  with  verdure  smiled 

Like  some  bright  fairy  world. 
The  day  was  beautiful  and  bi  ight, 

The  breeze  was  blowing  free, 
O'er  forest,  ocean,  fell,  and  moor, 

Right  plain  mine  eye  could  see. 
Thou2h  never  yet  save  in  a  dream 

Could  eye  of  mortal  man — 
See  o'er  one  ten  thousandeth  part 

Of  that  bright  shining  span — 
That  lay  between  that  mountain's  brow 

Where  we  then  stood  upon — 
And  those  vast  fertile  plains  below — 

That  in  the  distance  shone. 
But  some  power  unseen,  unknown 

Did  so  my  sight  enhance — 
I  gazed  as  o'er  a  mirror  small 

Across  that  vast  expanse. 
While  t  gazed,  then  sounded  in  mine  ear, 

"Mortal  thou  canst  now  behold, 
The  fairest,  mightiest  realm  o'er  which 

The  beams  of  Sol  have  roll'd. 
This  is  the  hmd  that  shall  be  loved, 

And  sought  from  age  to  age — 
By  every  race,  and  creed,  and  hue, 

By  scholar,  bard,  and  sage. 
This  is  the  land,  whose  blooming  charms 

All  hearts  of  men  shall  win, 
This  is  the  land  of  moor  and  fell, 

Of  roaring  flood  and  linn. 


93  THE     PRTESIDICIDE. 

Of  waving  forests,  fertile  fields 

Of  hill-sides  crown'd  with  vines, 
The  land  of  corn,  and  wine,  and  fruit. 

Of  rich  and  boundless  mines. 
The  land  where  nature  ever  laugh  s 

]n  happy  ecstasy, 
And  what's  more  prc-cious  far  thau  all — 

The  land  of  Liberty. 
And  where  soe'er  thy  lot  be  cast, 

What  ever  be  thy  fate, — 
Ne'er  do  a  deed,  that  shall  her  fame 

Sully  or  denigrate, 
But  be  like  me,  by  day  or  night 

I  ana  through  woe  or  weal — 
Columbia's  guardian  knight, 

For  her  1  draw  the  steel, 
For  her  alone  I  war  and  fight, 

Against  the  world  I  hold  her  right, 
And  will  uphold  her  power  and  might 

Till  time  shall  cease  her  onward  flight — 
With  fearless  heart  and  leal." 

LXXVIIT. 

He  ceased  then  gently  laid  me  down 

Upon  the  mountain's  flowery  crown. 
Then  came  a  tawny  cloud 

That  circled  all  the  hill,  flashing 
With  lightnings  grand  and  brijihl,  crashing 

With  thunders  long  and  loud. 
On  which  his  mighty  charger  sprung, 

And  bore  his  giant  form 
Far,  far  away  beyond  my  siaht 

Swift  as  the  mountain  storm. 
As  he  flew  his  shining  armor 

Cast  a  glorious  glow 
Bright  as  that  of  India's  sun 

Upon  the  world  below. 

LXXIX. 

With  a  chill'd  and  aching  form, 

And  forehead  cold  and  wet — 
I  started  from  that  frightful  dream, 

it  was  not  morning  yet. 
Not  long  I  ponder'd  oer  that  dream, 

Nor  let  it  trouble  me, 
For  soon  again  I  fill  d  my  soul 

With  rapture  at)d  with  jjlce, 
For  mighty  draughts  of  blood  red  wine 

I  pour  d  down  fast  and  free. 
They  drove  all  gloomy  thoughts  away, 

All  dull  monotony. 


THE    PRiESIDICIDE.  93 

They  cheer'd  my  body  through  and  through, 

Warm'd  iiiarrow,  pulse  an  I  vein, 
Soon  my  cold  and  chilly  body  felt 

Refreshed  and  strong  again. 

LXXX. 

There  came  a  knocking  at  my  door, 

And  Dame  Surratt  walk'd  in — 
All  blooming  like  a  morning  rose 

That  in  some  well  water'd  garden  blows, 
And  every  eye  might  win. 

She  was  a  hearty  buxom  dame 
As  ever  trod  on  earth, 

As  full  of  spirit,  wit  and  p-ame — 
As  any  yet  who  smiling  came 

From  scenes  of  sport  and  mirth. 
She  was  that  stamp  of  woman  kind 

That  seldom  in  this  latd  we  find, 
Who  wear  their  youthful  bloom  , 

E'en  when  they  prow  old  in  years, 
And  are  not  crown"d  with  hoary  hairs 

When  verging  on  the  tomb. 
The  very  stamp  for  which  old  men 

Grow  young,  and  warm,  and  frisk  agen, 
And  burn  with  gui'ty  love. 

Fired  with  passions  wild  and  keen — 
Like  those  old  twain  who  once  were  seen 

Emerging  from  the  prove. 
Lusting  for  fair  Susannah's  charms  ; 

Burning  to  cln.«p  hov  in  their  arms 
Though  weak  with  age  they  strove, 

LXXXL 

"Ho  !  John  Booth  !  pood  morning  sir,  I  heard 

You  up  an  hour  ago, 
But  thought  I'd  not  rise  until  I  saw 

The  beams  of  mo  ning  plw  ! 
But  have  risen  for  M'ithout  you 

Time  slides  too  dull  and  slow." 
"Welcome  madam,  I  never  saw 

You  look  so  well  before, 
I  was  just  thinking  to  uiyself 

That  you  were  worth  a  score 
Of  pale  faced  d.unscis  of  these  times- 
Such  as  we  see  and  meet, 
No  matter  where  we  chance  to  go, 

In  bower,  hall  or  street. 
Madam  since  I  awoke  I've  drank 

A  dozen  times  and  more, 
But  come  I'll  drain  a  health  to  you 

For  I  have  ne'er  before — 


94  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Tasted  such  fine  delicious  wine 

It  warms  my  very  core. 
So  here's  to  your  hale  rosy  cheeks, 

And  to  your  sunny  eyes, 
And  may  your  body  ne'er  grow  less 

But  still  increase  in  size, 
And  may  Dame  Fortune  favor  you 

For  ever  more  likewise. 
May  joy  and  bliss  your  soul  attend, 

Ay,  every  kind  of  mirth. 
No  matter  where  your  footsteps  tend 

Upon  this  spacious  earth. 
And  may  you  never  need  a  friend, 

Nor  ever  find  a  foe, 
To  you  may  all  with  homage  bexid, 

1'he  high,  the  proud,  the  low." 
''John  Booth,  now  pause,  I  know  not  wby 

But  o'er  my  soul  I  feel — 
Most  wild  and  strange  foreshadowings 

Of  future  sorrow  steal. 
There's  something  in  my  breast  that  bids 

Me  take  no  hand  at  all — 
In  the  foul  murder  of  these  men, 

Or  it  will  work  my  fall 
Thrice  have  I  luH'd  myself  to  sleep, 

And  thrice  have  woke  again. 
With  the  same  mysterious  dream 

Fix'd  fast  within  my  brain. 
Thrice  have  I  fancied  that  I  dwelt 

Within  a  house  of  gold, 
With  all  things  round  me  far  and  near 

Most  gladsome  to  behold. 
I  thought  that  boundless  wealth  was  mine 

My  cup  crown'd  full  of  joy, 
And  that  in  doing  deeds  of  good 

I  did  my  life  employ. 
I  dream'd,  that  I  relieved  the  woes 

Of  lame,  and  dumb  and  blind, 
And  all  the  hungry  came  to  me, 

They  knew  that  I  was  kind. 
And  that  I  gave  them  focd  and  drink 

With  open  heart  and  hand, 
That  I  ne'er  drove  them  from  my  door, 

Nor  spurn'd  them  from  my  land. 
All  this  I  dream'd,  then  suddenly 

Methought  that  I  became 
All  poor,  and  de.^titute,  and  lone, 

Without  a  friend,  without  a  home, 
With  tortured  mind  ard  frame 

Methoupht  mine  was  a  horrid  fate. 
And  that  the  people's  wrath  and  hate 


THE    PRjESIDICIDE.  S-*) 

Upon  uie  fell  like  flame, 
And  I  was  left  all  desolate 

Whelm'd  o'er  with  scorn  and  shame. 
Now  Booth  thrice  have  I  dreamt  this  dream, 

And  frankly  will  I  say 
I  think  it  is  a  warning  sent 

Just  in  a  quiet  way — 
To  keep  me  from  the  awful  sin, 

And  endless  infamy — 
To  which  that  plot  would  lead,  if  I, 

In  it  an  actor  be. 
So  I'll  withdraw  my  name  from  it, 

And  now  I  firmly  think 
If  you  are  bless'd  with  common  wit 

You  too  from  it  will  shrink, 
And  not  like  some  rash  huntsman  sit 

Near  the  slippery  brink 
Of  a  deep  and  awful  chasm, 

Who  suddenly  doth  go 
And  feel  his  last  dying  spasm 

Within  the  gulf  below." 

LXXXII. 

The  while  she  spake  around  the  room 

With  trembling  step  I  trod, 
And  can  it  be  I  thought  the  while 

That  dreams  descend  from  God — 
As  warnings  unto  mortal  men 

Of  coming  woe  and  harm, 
So  they  may  prepare  to  shun  it, 

And  'gainst  the  devil  arm. 
It  seems  ours  have  really  come 

To  warn  us  in  full  time, 
Bid  us  keep  from  the  awful  brink 

And  precipice  of  crime. 
For  it  seems  strange,  yea,  strange  indeed 

1  hat  while  this  night  we  slept. 
Such  wild  visions  in  forms  of  dreams 

Should  o'er  our  minds  have  crept, 
And  rack'd  and  tortured  mind  and  form 

As  though  we  were  awake. 
And  like  Cranmer  bound  and  chain'd  unto 

The  red  hot  burning  stake. 
What  of  that?  though  they  be  warnings 

As  plain  as  ever  were. 
They  shall  not  claim  a  thought  from  me, 

For  them  I  will  not  care. 
Nor  dream  nor  omen  of  any  kind 

Shall  turn  niy  heart  and  hand 
At  all  from  the  tremendous  deed 

That  I  have  schemed  and  plann'd. 


9G  THE     PR^TiSIDICIDE. 

E'en  if  bright  angels  came  to  earth 

And  took  me  by  the  arm, 
And  told  me  that  the  deed  would  bring 

Eternal  woe  and  harm, 
On  all  my  kin  and  friends  and  me 

In  every  shape  and  way, 
And  we  for  it  should  ever  mourn 

I  would  not  pause  nor  stay, 
But  work  with  all  my  strength  and  zeal 

As  though  they  cheer'd  nic  on, 
And  smiling  Fortune  favor'd  me, 

And  right  before  me  shune. 

LXXXIII. 

Madam,  I  laughing  thus  be^an, 

Although  T  know  my  check 
Must  have  look'd  all    pale  and  wan, 

Fcr  feebly  did  I  speak  ; 
But  I  thought  by  fiigning  a  laugh 

My  feelings  Id  disguise, 
And  make  e'en  her  fuiget  her  fears, 

And  all  such  thonghts  dcspis',\ 
Madam,  cast  all  such  thoujlits  aside, 

Let  nauirht  your  spirit  Iright, 
For  you  with  mo  shall  safely  ride 

To  wealth  and  glory's  height. 
Let  no  vague  dreanis  alarm  your  soul 

Nor  visions  of  the  night. 
From  your  mind  make  such  darkness  roll — 

And  keep  it  warm  and  bright} 
For  ever  since  the  world  began 

Dreams  have  disturbed  tie  sleep  of  man, 
And  there's  no  being  on  the  earth 

That  cares  one  little  straw 
For  all  their  scenes  of  boundless  mirth. 

Of  sorrow  or  of  awe. 
So  3Iadam  come  and  brace  your  nerves 

With  this  cool  glass  of  wine. 
Nor  let  me  think  your  spirit  swerves 

From  that  bold  plot  of  mine. 
Naught  but  success  can  it  betide, 

That  certain,  sure,  ai;d  clear. 
So  Madam  do  not  fret  nor  chide, 

Nor  doubts  against  it  rear. 
From  you  I  would  no  dangers  hide 

If  any  did  appear, 
I  hold  you  a  fiiend  that's  proved  and  tried. 

Whose  fortune's  mine  I  sw  ar 
Your  task  shall  be  ao  easy  one, 

For  it  will  only  be — 
To  give  to  each  of  us  a  home, 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  97 

Till  we  shall  all  agree 
What  each  one  is  to  do,  and  when 

The  deed  is  to  be  done, 
'Tis  all  you  need  to  do,  and  then 

Your  fortune  you  have  won. 
You  may  aid  lue  now  and  then  'tis  true 

Just  by  putting  in  a  word  or  two 
In  favour  of  my  schemes 

When  ever  here  I  chance  to  bring 
One  who'll  his  life  and  fortune  fling 

With  mine,  in  this  tremendous  thing, 
Who  well  my  plot  esteems. 

This  you  need  only  do  you  know 
"When  ever  you  may  see 

Occasion  a  fair  chance  doth  show — 
For  you  to  sanction  me. 

You  know  this  tongue  and  brain  of  mine 
Hight  often  when  I  drink — 

Gets  so  o'ercome  and  dull  with  wine 
I  cannot  speak  nor  think. 

Then  will  be  your  chance  if  all  are  not 
Dead  drunk  upon  the  floor, 

For  you  that  instant  in  their  ears 
Some  cunning  speech  to  pour, 

That'll  nerve  and  cheer  them  on,  and  make 
Them  pant  for  gold  and  gore. 

Business  may  often  call  me  forth, 
For  I  have  much  to  do, 

But  when  I'm  east,  or  west  or  north, 
I  will  rely  on  you 

To  keep  them  all  in  time  and  tune, 
And  eager  for  the  plot 

To  get  in  action  sure  and  soon, 
Without  a  bulk  nor  blot. 

Do  3^ou  but  strive  and  make  each  one 
With  what  I  say  agree, 

And  mind,  when  e'er  you  talk  with  them 
Your  speech  be  bold  and  free. 

Madam  you're  worth  a  dozen  men 
To  me  in  this  emprise, 

And  you  I  know  will  aid  me  through, 
I  see  it  in  your  eyes 

Come  do  not  let  me  beg  and  sue. 
Nor  gaze  at  me  so  still. 

But  with  a  firm  and  willing  mind 
Now  answer  that  you  will. 

For  it  shall  bring  you  weal  not  as, 
You  fancy  —  woe  and  ill. 

"John  Booth  give  me  your  hand,  I  swear 
By  all  that  we  hold  fond  and  dear, 

And  by  yon  holy  cross 


98  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

That  hangs  and  glitters  on  the  wall, 

That  whether  good  or  ill  befall, 
Let  it  be  gain  or  loss. 

That  I  will  back  and  aid  you  through, 
Help  you  to  strike  and  dare  and  do 

With  willing  hand  and  heart — 
In  every  shape  and  way  I  can 

Till  death  shall  bid  us  part, 
I  know  not  why,  but  I  am  fain 

To  follow  you,  let  woe  and  pain 
In  the  end,  alone  for  us  remain. 

There — let  me  feel  that  grasp  again  ; 
It's  stalwart,  frank,  and  warm, 

With  it,  and  your  sweet  voice  I'd  face 
Scenes  of  fell  horror,  and  disgrace, 

Flood  or  fiery  storm." 

LXXXIV. 
So  she  spake  and  then  we  parted, 

Warm  and  gay  and  gladsome  hearted, 
No  two  lovers  bound  in  Hymen's  bond 

Have  e'er  parted  more  warm  and  fond. 
Though  we'd  no  thought  nor  wish  beyond 

Those  that  the  plot  would  soon  reveal — 
The  slaughter  of  those  men, 

And  the  eternal  woe  or  weal 
That  would  betide  us  then 

LXXXV. 

That  very  hour  we  parted 

Off  to  Baltimore  I  started. 
Full  of  wine  and  blithesome  hearted, 

Soon  along  its  streets  I  pass'd 
Upon  the  Railway  Train, 

Cold  blew  the  winds,  clouds  the  sky  o'er  cast, 
The  tree  tops  reePd  before  the  blast — 

And  bow'd  like  fiends  in  pain. 
From  the  roofs  unto  the  streets  below 

Beat  down  the  drifting  sleet  at^d  snow, 
Wrapping  all  things  the  eye  might  meet 

In  a  cold  and  icy  winding  sheet; 
Making  it  slippery  for  the  feet. 

And  painful  for  the  tread, — 
Paths  through  the  d lifted  piles  to  beat — 

That  all  around  were  spread. 
As  on  that  day  so  bleak  and  cold 

Along  the  snowy  wynds  I  stroll'd, 
I  met  a  well  known  face, 

But  pale  and  wan  he  look'd  the  while, 
He  strode  towards  me,  a  feeble  smile 

I  on  his  brow  could  trace. 
Strong  was  his  build,  his  bearing  bold, 

Though  scarcely  twenty  years  had  roll'd 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Their  summers  hot  and  winters  cold — 

O'er  ocean,  forest,  fell  and  wold — 
Since  he  his  course  on  earth  began, 

And  yet  a  braver,  sterner  man 
Upon  this  earth's  diurnal  span 

Amidst  the  battle's  horrid  van 
Had  seldom  trod  I  ween. 

And  though  his  cheeks  were  pale  and  wau 
His  eyes  were  sharp  and  sbeen  ; 

And  full  on  mine  he  made  them  gleam 
While  thus  he  spake  to  me, 

"Bootli  my  hunger  is  so  extreme 
I  am  in  agony/' 

'Payne  I'm  about  to  do  a  thing 
That  will  make  all  the  nations  ring 

With  the  echo  of  my  name. 
And  I  will  give  you  drink  and  food, 

Yea,  freely  ease  your  hungry  mood, 
And  warmly  clothe  your  frame, 

I'll  give  you  wealth  and  all  things  fine. 
And  crown  your  life  with  fame. 

If  you  will  stand  by  me  and  mine 
Through  horror  or  through  shame. 

Here  is  a  bible,  swear  you  will 
Aye  follow  me  through  good  or  ill — 

With  faithful  heart  and  soul, 
I  will  all  gnawing  hunger  still, 

You  shall  no  more  feel  cold  and  chill, 
Be  rack'd  with  want  and  dole.'' 

He  swore,  he  took  that  fatal  oath 
Which  bound  his  soul  to  me 

In  doing  it,  he'd  shown  more  sloth, 
Yea,  I  know  well  he  had  been  loth 

Had  he  known  the  infamy 
Which  there  and  then  he  swore  to  do. 

Yea,  that  fell  heinous  crime 
Had  I  but  mention'd  it  to  him, 

Though  he  was  savage,  firm,  and  grim, 
Strong  as  a  lion  in  each  limb, 

It  would  have  made  his  senses  swim 
And  shook  him  for  a  time 

With  I'eeling  less  of  joy  than  fear, 
I  did  not  feign  to  tell  him  there 

The  least  thing  what  my  projects  were, 
It  had  not  answer'd  then  ; 

I  watch 'd  him  with  a  devirs  stare, 
And  spirit  not  of  men, 

And  thus  I  trapped  him  in  the  snare 
One  night  in  Surratt's  den. 


99 


XOO  THE     PR^SIDICIDE. 

LXXXVI. 

First  a  home  I  pictured  unto  him 

Of  boundless  wealth  and  ease, 
A  palace  in  a  shady  grove 

Beside  the  sounding  seas, 
With  every  thing  both  far  and  near 

The  soul  to  charm  and  please, 
And  how  by  the  slaufrhter  of  one  man 

He  might  attain  all  these  ; 
To  which  he  snt  all  still  and  mute, 

But  when  I  'gan  to  speak 
Of  Southern  woes,  and  Southern  wrongs, 

I  saw  a  crimson  streak 
Of  rising  hate  and  aneer  flash 

Along  his  manly  cheek, 
Bright  as  Sol's  last  ray  cast  upon 

A  mountain's  tawny  peak. 
As  billows  swelling  in  a  cave 

From  whence  they  soon  will  burst, 
As  some  bright  sparks  that  into  flames 

Are  being  fiinn'd  and  nursed, 
I  marked  his  rising  hate  and  rage 

Heave  high  his  manly  breast. 
While  I  talked  of  foul  wrongs  the  North 

Upon  the  South  had  press'd, 
I  got  him  so  that  in  his  chair 

He  could  no  longer  rest. 
Up  he  sprung,  in  a  storm  of  words 

Straight  forth  his  anger  burst. 
And  long  the  North  for  what  she'd  done 

With  clenched  hand  and  teeth  he  cursed, 
And  swore,  that  till  his  dying  day 

'Gainst  her  he'd  do  his  worst. 
I  marked  with  eagle  gaze  how  keen 

His  mighty  anger  got 
Against  the  North,  and  for  the  Souths 

Unhappy  mournful  lot, 
Now  is  my  time  to  strike  methought, 

The  steel  seems  fusing  hot, 
While  he  is  full  of  rage  and  wine 

I'll  tell  him  of  the  plot. 
For  now  I  well  can  judge  if  he 

Will  fancy  it  or  no, 
If  I  can't  coax  him  in  ray  schemes 

I'll  braia  him  with  a  blow, 
He  can  be  a  trusty  friend, 

Likewise  a  dangerous  foe, 
If  he  refuse,  it  is  not  safe 

For  me  to  let  him  go! 
Then  I  bared  all  the  plot  to  him, 

Uncover'd  aU  the  crime. 
And  strove  to  make  him  fancy  it 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  101 

Would  aid  the  Southern  clime 
And  that  it  was  the  grandest  scheme 

That  ever  yet  was  plann'd — 
To  aid  the  Southern  cause,  in  this 

Or  any  other  land. 

LXXXVII. 

Silent  and  still  he  sat  as  though 

My  voice  he  had  not  heard, 
As  though  Le  had  not  even  deigned 

To  listen  to  a  word. 
And  then  he  whistled  for  a  while, 

Then  humm'd  some  listless  rhyme — 
About  those  who  murder'd  Caesar 

So  foul  in  ancient  time, 
And  the  retribution  that  fell 

Upon  them  for  the  crime. 
Then  sang  of  those  who  slew  the  king 

Of  fair  MycenaDs'  land, 
And  how  they  died  in  agony 

Beneath  Oresties'  band. 
"If  thou  canst  bring  a  thousand  men 

As  partners  in  thy  plot — 
Men  who  are  stalwart,  brave  and  bold, 

Who  quail  and  tremble  not — 
When  Ruin  stares  them  in  the  face 

With  all  the  horrors  she  can  trace ; 
Nor  care  one  little  jot 

If  they  should  end  their  earthly  race 
With  deaths  of  horror  and  disgra'^e, 

So  their  ends  and  aims  are  got. 
Then  I'd  not  hesitate  at  all 

To  link  my  fate  with  thine 
In  this  emprise,  let  ruin  frown 

On  us,  or  fortuje  shine. 
Have  we  grown  less  inured  to  war  ? 

And  less  to  terror  steel'd  ? 
Than  when  we  drove  the  Northern  hosts 

From  red  Manassas'  field  ! 
Have  we  forgot  the  art  of  war 

Since  Sumpter's  cannon  peal'd  ? 
And  those  proud  old  battlements  • 

Beneath  our  thunders  reel'd  ? 
That  we  to  such  foul  plots  as  these 

For  stern  revenge  should  yield? 
By  heaven  no ;  1  tfiW  thee  Booth 
Thou'd  best  be  wise  in  time^ 
And  cast  forever  from  thy  mind 

All  thoughts  of  this  dark  crime. 
Though  every  man  of  them  should  die 

The  plot  has  doom'd  to  death, 


1C2  XH]^     m^SIDICIDE. 

And  it  should  ne'er  be  known  at  all 

How  ceased  their  mortal  breath, 
It  would  not  do  thee  aught  of  good, 

Nor  help  the  i^outhern  cause, 
Most  likely  it  would  ruin  both, 

So  thou  had  better  pause. 
All  those  thou  hast  in  league  with  thee 

Their  numbers  are  so  few — 
Thehalf  of  it  they  could  not  do 

Though  they  were  prompt  and  true. 
The  Southern  States  have  gone  to  wreck 

They  never  can  be  free, 
Nor  ever  crush  the  Northern  power, 

In  that  we  all  agree. 
Not  but  what  we  have  battled  well, 

Done  all  that  men  could  do, 
But  where  we  have  one  man  to  fight — 

The  North  has  twenty  two. 
They  flock  to  aid  her  from  all  lands, 

E'en  far  beyond  the  seas, 
Ay,  every  race,  and  creed,  and  hue, 

But  we  have  none  of  these 
To  fight  and  shout  for  us,  and  wave 

Our  ensign  to  the  breeze. 
So  we  can't  fill  our  wasted  ranks 

Just  any  time  we  please. 
So  soon  we'll  have  to  yield  to 

Dire,  stern  necessity, 
And  calmly  wait  our  doom  and  fate 

What  ever  it  may  be." 

LXXXVIII. 

Fierce  I  exclaimed,  by  heaven  Payne 

I  never  dreamt  nor  thought — 
That  you  would  fear  to  rush  where  fame 

And  glory  might  be  sought. 
You  who  have  faced  the  brittle  brunt 

On  red  Antietam's  moor, 
And  braved  the  iron  hurricane 

Round  Gettysburg  did  roar, 
And  many  a  corpse  encumbered  field 

That  reek'dwith  human  gore, 
Would  ever  shrink  from  danger  when 

Upon  the  vevge  of  fame, 
When  Fortune  opens  wide  her  arms 

And  calls  you  by  your  name. 
By  heaven,  Payne,  it  cannot  be, 

I  will  not  so  believe 
That  such  a  soul  is  born  in  you. 

It  cannot  so  deceive, 
Belie,  your  dauntless  outward  look, 


TUB    PRiESIDICIDE.  103 

Ho  !  lio  !  I  see  it  now. 


> 


That  little  lass  with  sunny  eyes, 

And  with  the  smiling  brow, 
And  cheeks  that  with  the  rainbow  vies. 

In  all  its  varied  tints  and  dyes 
Has  made  your  spirit  bow 

'Neath  Cupid's  yoke,  but  cast  it  off — 
Nor  let  it  gall  your  soul, 

You  yet  will  blush  that  e'er  you  were 
A  slave  'neath  Lis  control. 

Last  night  I  watched  you  at  the  ball, 
And  saw  that  lass  of  yours 

Had  you  completely  'neath  her  thrall, 
She'd  not  let  yeu  move  from  her  at  all, 

Nor  drink  when  e'er  a  toast  we'd  call, 
Such  things  my  soul  abhors 

You  seem'd  to  dote  upon  her  smile 
With  all  your  heart  and  soul. 

But  cast  her  from  your  mind,  let  Love 
No  more  your  heart  control. 

Long  as  you  are  a  slave  to  Love 
Your  mind  will  not  be  free, 

For  Love  's  a  pest  to  human  kind 
Both  high  and  low  decree. 

Stealthily  it  coils  round  human  hearts — 
As  doth  the  ivy  twine 

Its  binding  hurtful  folds  around 
The  tall  and  stately  pine, 

Ay,  it  is  a  treacherous  rock 
Amidst  life's  whirling  stream — 

On  which  poor  mortals  often  wreck 
"When  all  doth  hopeful  seem , 

And  your's  like  all  mankind's  will  die. 
Yea,  perish  as  a  dream. 

For  human  love  however  strong — 
Its  life  is  very  shorty 

To  one  like  me  who's  roam'd  the  world 
It  seems  an  idle  thought. 

I  hold  it  frailer  than  the  web 
That  little  spiders  weave  ; 

Tis  fools  who  nurture  up  the  flame — 
And  o'er  lost  friendships  grieve. 

I  hold  it  as  the  simplest  thing 
That  any  man  can  do — 

To  build  his  joy  on  woman's  love. 
Or  deem  her  vows  are  true. 

Woman's  love  is  writ  in  water  ; 
Her  vows  are  traced  on  sand, 

Her  heart  and  soul  are  far  away 
E'en  when  she  gives  her  hand. 

And  little  cares  she  whom  she  has 


104  THE    TR^SIDICIDE. 

To  torture  or  to  please, 

So  she  can  gratify  her  wants, 
And  live  in  sloth  and  ease. 

Woman  must  have  been  placed  on  earth 
Man's  comfort  to  destroy. 

For  ever  since  she  had  her  birth 
God  turn  d  to  woe  and  pain  his  mirth. 

His  rapture,  and  his  joy. 
Instead  of  bliss,  toil,  want,  and  woe. 

Must  all  his  life  employ 
She's  all  his  recompense  for  woe, 

That  peevish,  sickening  toy. 
And  who  slights  woman's  love  cuts  deep, 

Wakes  broods  of  vipers  fell — 
That  lie  coil'd  up  in  half  repose 

'Neath  blooming  asphode-1. 
If  'tis  not  true  of  all  the  sex, 

It  is  of  most  I  ween, 
The  false  and  sly  we  often  meet, 

The  true  are  seldom  seen. 
At  times  they  shine  amongst  their  sex 

Grand,  glorious  and  sheen,  ° 

Like  blazing  comets  in  the  sky 

With  mighty  voids  betweea. 
So  follow  me,  and  by  my  soul 

Before  a  year  goes  round, 
You  shall  be  rich  in  gold  and  lands. 

Be  honor'd  andrenown'd. 
Why  fly  from  Fortune's  smile  when  forth 

To  you  she  holds  her  hand  ? 
Why  fail  to  slake  your  thirst  when  by 

The  flowing  stream  you  stand  ? 
Now  Payne  let  good  or  ill  betide — 

Your  fortune's  mine  I  swear. 
If  you  will  aid  me  in  the  plot 

I  solemnly  declare — 
Your  friend  I'll  be  so  long  as  God 

My  life  on  earth  shall  spare. 
And  I'll  ne'er  sever  from  your   side 

In  danger,  woe,  nor  fear. 
And  more,  I  solemnly  affirm 

That  every  one  of  ye. 
Who  back  and  aid  me  in  the  plot 

Shall  ne'er  be  shunn'd  by  me. 
That  is  if  well  they  do  the  thing 

They  undertake  to  do. 
And  act  like  men  with  eense  and  thought 

And  courage  prompt  and  true. 
Yea,  I  will  aid  and  comfort  them, 

Betide  it  weal  or  woe, 
Yea,  let  us  stride  to  wealth  and  fame, 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  105 

Or  to  the  gallows  go. 
What  if  my  numbers  be  S9  few  ? 

All  vast  things  on  this  earth  we  view, 
But  from  little  atoms  sprung  and  grew 

To  their  gigantic  size. 
From  little  springs  vast  oceans  flow, 

From  little  sparks  vast  fires  glow, 
From  acorns  mighty  forests  grow 

Through  which  the  whirlwind  sighs, 
And  little  grains  of  dust  and  sand 

Make  up  the  mountains  huge  and  grand 
That  tower  to  the  skies  ! 

And  little  flakes  of  fleecy  snow 
That  fall  upon  the  mountain's  brow — 

Through  heat,  and  cold,  and  blast,  and  storm. 
The  avalanche  and  glacier  form. 

A  little  spark  explodes  the  mine, 
And  rocks  that  some  vast  mountain  line 

Are  from  their  bases  torn. 
Whole  hills  by  one  small  spark  of  flame 

Igniting  with  the  powder  train 
Are  to  destruction  borne. 

And  one  small  breath  of  heat  give  birth 
Unto  the  fierce  Simoom, 

That  sweeps  along  the  startled  earth 
Spreading  fell  blight  and  gloom. 

Small  rays  of  light  will  spread  'till  they 
The  whole  creation  span, 

And  one  small  microscopic  cell 
Give  birth  unto  a  man. 

Though  small  the  band  in  which  I  trust 
To  carry  out  the  deed, 

Yet  surely  as  we  drink  this  wine 
It  must  and  will  succeed 

The  other  day  you  know  you  swore 
Before  both  God  and  man, 

You'd  staLd  by  me  through  good  or  ill 
In  any  scheme  I'd  plan, 

So  speak  out  freely  now  as  then — 
And  say  you'll  do  the  thing, 

Nor  let  us  sit  like  wordy  fools 
All  night  here  arguing. 

If  you  intend  to  move  at  all — 
And  strike  at  my  command, 

You'll  hesitate  no  more,  but  speak, 
And  reach  me  forth  your  hand." 

LXXXIX. 

Straight  forth  he  stretch'd  his  hand  to  clasp 

Mine  own  within  his  stalwart  grasp, 
And  thus  he  spake  to  me, 


106 


THE     PRiESIDICIDE. 

"Yea,  Booth,  let  good  or  ill  betide, 
I  will  not  sever  from  thy  side, 
But  strike  and  dare  for  thee." 

xc. 

All  was  accomplished,  Dame  Surratt 

Meanwhile  the  rest  had  done, 
For  she  got  Harold,  Atzerodt, 
Young  Arnold  and  her  son, 
To  work  the  fiendish  scheme  with  me, 

And  help  me  drive  it  through ; 
How  she  made  them  consent  so  soon 

To  help,  I  never  knew. 
In  fact  I  never  cared  to  know. 

So  did  not  question  her, 
I  was  to  busy  at  that  time 

To  think  that  she  might  err — 
In  picking  out  the  sort  of  men 

That  such  a  plot  would  need, 
To  make  it  work  right  surely  on, 

And  at  all  points  succeed. 
But  he  who  seeks  by  felon  means 

To  carry  out  his  aims. 
It  matters  not  how  dark  and  foul 

May  be  the  scheme  he  frames, 
Some  vile  woman  of  her  stamp  he 

Should  always  have  in  league. 
For  she'll  be  quicker  than  a  man 

In  cunning  sly  intrigue. 
She'll  have  more  wile  and  artifice, 

And  more  persuasive  force, 
More  skill  in  guile  and  craftiness 

However  fair  or  coarse — 
Than  all  the  fiends  in  shapes  of  men 

That  roam  upon  the  earth, 
She'll  far  more  foul  crime  conceive, 

Nor  fear  to  give  it  birth. 
Let  her  be  fair,  or  foul,  gay  or  mild. 

Sweet  of  temper,  or  rough  and  wild, 
Her  tongue  in  one  short  hour, — 

Can  coax  more  of  the  human  race 
To  deeds  of  horror  and  disgrace, 

Than  fiendish  man  however  base 
Could  coax  in  thrice  the  time  and  space 

With  all  his  strength  and  power. 
At  least  I  found  it  so,  for  while 

I  was  persuading  one 
To  league  with  me,  Mary  Surratt 

Got  three  besides  her  son. 
In  doing  it  no  aid  at  all 
Did  she  from  me  obtain. 


TIIK     n;.P.SIDICIDK. 

Thoujih  oft  had  she  not  aided  me 

With  mind  and  tongue  so  sharp  and  slee, 
I'd  fail'd  in  winning  Payne. 

XCT. 

Time  sped  away  on  lightning  wings — 

Yet  slow  it  pass'd  I  thought, 
Each  hour  seem'd  as  though  it  some 

New  doubt  and  trouble  brought. 
For  every  dreary  day  and  night 

Each  sound  and  sight  I  caught, 
Seem'd  plainly  whisper  unto  me 

The  plotwouM  come  to  naught, 
One  constant  deadly  fear  I  had, 

Which  racked  me  night  and  day, 
For  it  I  could  not  eat  nor  sleep, 

I  could  not  sport  nor  play, 
It  was  that  some  one  in  the  plot 

Might  turn  traitor  and  betray. 
One  rainy  night  I  heard  a  row 

Within  the  street  below. 
Heard  the  tramp  of  hurrying  feet, 

Saw  torches  flash  and  glow, 
With  fear  I  shook  from  head  to  heel — 

And  sprang  from  out  my  bed, 
I  caught  my  dirk  and  pistol  up 

And  to  the  window  sped. 
I  fancied  straight,  the  plot  was  known. 

And  they  were  after  me, 
Yea,  that  some  one  had  traitor  turn'd. 

Who  could  the  villain  be  ? 
Once,  twice,  1  fanced  that  I  heard 

Them  call  me  by  my  name, 
A  chill  ran  all  my  marrow  through, 

Blood  curdled  through  my  frame. 
Black  icy  horror  smote  me  dumb — • 

Chill'd  nerve,  and  pulse,  and  vein, 
I  cocked  my  loaded  pistol  quick 

And  put  it  to  my  brain. 
I  cannot  fight  them  all  methought, 

And  there's  not  one  bare  chance 
For  me  to  fly,  escape  from  them, 

Should  they  on  me  advance. 
So  ere  they  shall  take  me  living 

To  judge  me  for  the  crime, 
And  bring  me  to  the  gallows  grim 

I'll  end  my  earthly  time. 
But  swift  the  multitude  pass'd  on, 

Without  a  sign  of  harm 
To  me  or  mine,  and  soon  I  ceased 

To  tremble  with  alarm. 


107 


108  THE    PRiESIDICIDE. 

They  were  a  throng  of  firemen — 

With  engines  rushing  on — 
To  some  huge  fire  that  far  away 

Beyond  my  window  shone. 
I  heard  the  fire  bells  toll  forth 

Their  sullen  loud  ahirra, 
Back  to  bed  I  went,  glad  'twas  all 

Imaginary  harm. 
And  strove  to  ease  my  mind  with  thoughts 

That  all  were  firm  and  true, 
Who  in  the  plot  were  leagued  with  me, 

Or  ought  about  it  knew. 

XCII. 

The  inauguration  day  arrived, 

The  day  that  godlike  man — 
His  second  term  as  President 

O'er  this  wide  realm  began. 
He  fairly  chosen  for  that  post 

Of  honor,  rank,  and  power, 
By  all  his  country's  truest  sons, 

Her  manhood,  pride,  and  flower, 
Because  there  was  no  fitter  man 

To  guide  her  in  that  hour 
Of  tempest  and  of  storm,  within 

The  nation  to  be  found; 
They  knew  if  he  was  at  the  helm 

All  would  be  safe  and  sound. 
They  knew  him  honest  and  sincere, 

That  they  could  trust  in  him, 
Let  the  nation's  future  career 

Be  bright,  or  dark,  and  dim. 
With  him  they  felt  as  doth  the  throng 

Within  some  noble  bark. 
Though  angry  billows  bellow  round, 

And  night  is  inky  dark  : 
And  though  the  furious  tempest 

Shatters  masts,  shrouds  and  sail. 
They  feel  they  need  not  fear  the  waves, 

Nor  tremble  at  the  gale, 
For  they  have  a  pilot  at  the  helm 

Who  will  not  shrink  nor  quail — 
How  ever  fierce  the  billows  toss  j 

And  one  who  ne'er  oid  fail 
To  guide  his  vessel  safely  on 

By  clift  and  dangerous  rock, 
However  dark  the  night,  or  fierce 

The  waves  and  tempest's  shock. 
I  saw  him  on  that  day  come  forth 

And  on  the  terrace  stand, 
Swear  before  the  face  of  heaven, 


THE   pr>esidicideJ  109 

(I  saw  him  raise  his  hand) 
That  he  with  faithful  heart  and  soul 

Would  guide  and  rule  the  land. 
That  nothing  he  would  leave  undone— 

That  God  vouchsafed  to  show — 
How  ho  might  bind  the  land  again, 

Make  blood&hed  cease  to  flow, 
Yea,  soothe  the  people's  frantic  rage, 

And  heal  the  wounds  of  war 
Ease  all  their  misery  and  woe 

Within  the  realm  afar. 
He  really  seem'd  the  while  he  spake — 

That  with  all  his  heart  and  soul — 
He  longed  and  yearned  and  prayed  for  that 

To  be  the  end  and  goal. 
]Te  looked  serene  as  one  whose  life 

In  God  is  rooted  fast, 
A  man  who  feareth  naught  but  God, 

There  faith  securely  cast. 
As  some  firm  rocky  fort  that  recks 

Not  flood  nor  sieire  nor  storm. 
So  arm'd  in   faith  and  lofty  pride 

He  rear'd  his  kingly  form. 
And  all  of  that  long  while  he  spake — 

(Methinks  I  see  it  now) 
Though  men  by  thousands  stood  around — 

There  was  not  one  I  trow — 
But  seem'd  to  hear  his  words  with  joy, 

And  wore  a  smiling  brow, 
And  shouted  forth  tLeir  hearty  cheers 

Soon  as  he  made  the  vnw. 
I  even  Inok'd  in  many  faces 
Of  old  friends  of  mine — 
Who  once  declared  they  hated  him, 

And  swore  by  all  divine 
That  it  should  ever  last  'till  death, 

But  there  I  fail  d  to  trace 
One  sign  of  hate,  or  yet  a  sneer, 

Upon  their  brow  or  face. 
They  seem'd  to  sho-it  as  hearfy  cheers. 

As  those  who  from  the  first 
Had  praised,  and  bless'd  that  chief,  and  all 

His  fame  and  glory  nursed. 
And  sooner  would  have  died  right  out 

Than  e'er  his  name  have  cursed. 
Ay,  all  around  both  far  and  near 
Look'd  happy,  bright  an<l  gny. 
Though  winds  blew  cold  and  fierce  and  dark 

And  rainy  was  the  day. 
And  that  bright  sunshine  of  the  world, 
That  best  and  noblest  gift. 


110  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Which  God  in  loving  kiudness  seOi.  — 

The  soul  of  man  to  lift 
From  the  miry  swamps  of  sloth, 

And  make  it  shine  and  soar — 
Midst  grand  and  nuble  things,  as  though 

Some  god  his  soul  upbore. 
And  keep  it  ever  glad  and  bless'd, 

Yea,  she  was  smiling  there, 
That  being  we  men  call  woman, 

That  looks  80  sweet  and  fair. 
She  who  is  ever  good  and  kind, 

And  ever  on  the  road 
To  soothe  her  fellow  creature's  woes, 

And  ease  life's  weary  load. 
Who  like  a  soothing  angel  stands 

Beside  the  couch  of  woe. 
Couch  of  contagion,  fell  disease, 

Where  man  would  fear  to  go. 
Yea,  she's  the  sunshine  of  the  world, 

Before  her  sunny  smile 
Afar  grief's  mirky  clouds  are  hurl'd, 

And  rapture  dawns  the  while. 
By  thousands  all  around  they  stood, 

With  eyes  so  bright  and  sheen, 
And  like  merry  laughing  angels 

They  gladden'd  all  the  scene. 
They  waved  their  snowy  hands,  and  join'd 

In  all  that  wild  acclaim — 
That  roar'd  from  mouths  of  men  to  greet 

That  hero  as  he  came. 
I  saw  I  was  the  only  one 

Midst  all  that  mighty  throng. 
Who  bore  towards  that  grand  President 

One  thought  of  harm  or  wrong. 
Only  one  who  could  not  rejoice, 

Be  happy  or  be  gay. 
And  hail  him  as  the  nation's  choice 

On  that  important  day. 
I  could  not  bear  to  hear  the  voice 

Of  one  I  hated  so. 
And  was  so  soon  to  vilely  slay 

By  foul  assassin  blow. 
Afar  from  that  gay  throng  I  drew 

With  dark  and  sullen  soul, 
For  I  could  scarce  my  fiendish  thoughts 

Within  my  breast  control. 
I  felt  all  like  the  devil  felt, 

The  night  that  he  was  hurl'd 
Before  the  rage  and  strength  of  God, 

From  out  the  blissful  world. 
And  flounder'd  down  amidst  the  rocks 


THE    PR^SlblCIDE.  Ill 

And  yawning  gulfs  of  hell, 
And  saw  and  fe,lt  the  fiery  hiss 

Of  dragons  fierce  and  fell. 
While  afar  above  in  heaven 

Amongst  the  s:iitited  throng — 
He  heard  sweet  music  rise  and  fall, 

And  heard  the  l;iun;h  and  song — 
Of  pure  and  spotless,  happy  souls, 

Untouched  by  want  or  woe, 
'Mougst  whom  he  ne'er  again  could  mix, 

Or  ever  hope  to  go. 

XCIII. 

Oh !  had  I  been  born  in  olden  time 

When  chivalry  began, 
When  naught  but  deeds  of  high  renown 

Could  charm  the  soul  of  man. 
When  naught  but  honor,  worth  and  fame, 

And  deeds  of  manly  style, 
Could  ever  bring  on  Beauty's  cheek 

One  warm  approving  smile. 
Yea,  win  one  loving  gaze  from  her, 

And  charm  her  soul  awhile. 
Days  when  any  knight  the  gauntlet 

Unto  the  world  might  fling; 
When  any  yeoman  of  the  land 

Might  ride  in  listed  ring, 
And  do  strong  battle  hand  to  hand 

With  peer,  and  prince,  and  king, 
Ay,  meet  them  in  the  tourney's  whirl, 

With  heart  and  soul  on  flame — 
And  win  renown,  or  let  some  king 

His  knightly  ardor  tame. 
Yea,  die  amidst  the  rush  of  spears, 

Or  win  a  deathless  name. 
Fall  or  spread  o'er  wide  Christendom 

His  everlasting  fame. 
In  those  glorious  days  of  old, 

No  king  was  ever  crown'd. 
But  what  some  steel-clad  champion 

Beside  him  would  be  found, 
Who  for  valor,  strength  and  courtesy. 

Was  o'er  the  world  renown'd, 
And  whose  high  ofiice  'twas  to  throw 

The  gauntlet  on  the  ground — 
Ere   his  prince  the  diadem  had  ta'en, 

A  challenge  unto  those 
That  prince's  right  of  sovereignty 

Dared  openly  oppose. 
Yea,  fling  a  challenge  to  the  world, 

And  meet  his  prince's  foes. 


112  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Oil !  were  those  grand  liigh  offices 

Of  honor  and  of  praise, 
But  fiU'd  at  those  important  times 

In  these  degenerate  days, 
How  proudly  had  I  sat  upon 

A  charger  black  as  night ; 
My  body  sheathed  from  head  to  heel 

In  armor  flashing  bright. 
And  strong  as  the  torrent  dashing 

Down  an  Andean  height. 
Proudly  I'd  drawn  my  sword  and  thrown 

A  challenge  unto  those, 
Who  dared  openly,  by  thought  or  deed, 

That  President  oppose. 
Who  dared  deny  his  right  and  claim 

To  sway  and  rule  the  land. 
And  I  had  fiercely  met  them  in 

Stark  battle  hand  to  hand. 

XCIV. 

Strance  thoughts  are  these  for  one  like  me. 

Who  did  so  fell  a  deed — 
Who  strove  to  blast  his  native  land, 

And  civil  discord  breed. 
Who  slew  his  country's  noblest  son — 

The  first  in  rai  k  and  power — 
And  more,  to  do  it  when  I  did. 

At  that  dark  trying  hour. 
Oh  coward,  felon,  false  and  sly! 

Oh  traitor  dark  and  fell ! 
Oh  murderer  of  the  basest  kind  ! 

Oh  villain  sprung  from  hell ! 
Oh  sharp,  and  keen,  and  subtle  knave ! 

Oh  liar  vile  and  base  ! 
Oh  well  may  the  hot  burning  tears 

Bedew  my  curs'd  face  ! 
Well  may  I  writhe  in  agony, 

And  curse  the  fatal  hour, 
I  willingly  became  a  slave 

Unto  the  devil's  power. 
Well  may  I  curse  my  awful  deeds, 

And  like  a  madman  rave 
With  pain  of  body  and  of  mind, 

Above  my  yawning  grave. 

xcv. 

The  night  arrived — that  awful  night 
The  bloody  work  was  done — 

At  Dame  Surratt's  we  all  convened. 
For  fitter  place  was  none. 

And  there  we  ate,  laugh'd,  sang  and  swore. 
And  pour'd  down  floods  of  wine, 

Until  the  clock  upon  the  wall 


THE    PRiESIDICIDE.  113 

Aroused  this  soul  of  mine 
From  that  wild  scene  of  revelry. 

I  instantly  arose, 
And  told  to  each  his  fearful  task, 

And  how  to  deal  his  blows  ; 
But  ere  I  ceased,  thus  Payne  began 

With  solemn  voice  to  speak — 
The  wine  was  flashing  in  his  eyes, 

And  flaming  on  his  cheek  : 
'^Booth,  I  can't  see  what  good  'twill  be 

For  us  t)  do  this  thing; 
Sure  every  one  of  us  unto 

The  gallows  it  will  bring. 
It  is  as  foul  and  awful  plot 

As  e'er  was  framed  by  man. 
Or  e'er  was  conjured  in  the  brain 

Since  earth  and  sea  began. 
Torture  I'd  bear  like  Ravaillac, 

And  be  as  firm  and  brave 
As  him,  at  the  stake  or  ghastly  rack, 

The  gallows  or  the  grave. 
I  fear  no  woe  or  pain  with  which 

Man  can  torment  my  form, 
My  soul  would  brave  it  as  the  rock 

The  lightning  and  the  storm. 
But  'tis  a  horrid  thing,  I  swear, 

For  us  to  sneak  forth  thus, 
And  vilely  slay  and  murder  men 

Who  never  injured  us." 
Fierce  on  his  speech  I  broke  with  eyes 

Like  flaming  coals  of  fire. 
The  blood  went  boiling  through  my  veins. 

And  shook  my  form  with  ire. 
First  with  curses  on  his  fears  I  broke 

With  all  my  voice's  strength, 
Pour'd  forth  a  volley  of  foul  oaths 

A  half  a  rood  in  length. 
"By  heaven  Payne  then  can  it  be 

You  are  so  frail  in  mind  ? 
Why  you  are  unstable  as  water, 

Inconstant  as  the  wind. 
'Twas  but  the  other  day  you  swore 

(I  deem'd  your  vow  was  true) 
You  would  aid  me  heart  and  hand 

To  drive  this  business  through. 
Yea,  help  me  slay  and  butcher  those 

Who  drove  the  South  to  shame, 
Who  pour'd  forth  armies  on  her  soil 

And  wrapt  her  towns  in  flame, 
Who  tore  her  blooming  vineyards  down, 

Left  them  desolate  and  lone, 


114  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Made  her  a  howling  "wilderness 

Bare  as  the  arid  Zone, 
Made  many  a  stately  mansion 

That  once  looked  bright  and  fair, 
And  where  once  merry  laughter  rung 
^        Upon  the  evening  air — 
A  sad  and  lonely,  ruin'd  pile, 

O'er  which  the  grasses  wave. 
Its  owners  exiled  from  the  land, 

Treated  as  the  meanest  slave, 
Or  thrown  in  dungeons  dark  as  night. 

Damp,  gloomy  as  the  grave." 
''Ay,  but  Booth  every  one  that  you 

This  night  would  doom  to  death — 
Of  this  are  innocent,  so  why 

Stop  off  their  vital  breath  ? 
This  bloody  war  had  long  began 

Ere  they  arose  to  power, 
We  insatiate  for  war,  arose 

To  slaughter  and  devour. 
Had  the  North  not  stemm'd  the  Southern  tide, 

And  down  its  pride  have  ta'en. 
Then  every  town  the  North  could  boast 

Had  ere  this  in  ashes  lain. 
And  base  indeed  had  been  those  men, 

And  lost  to  sense  of  shame — 
When  they  assumed  the  nation's  rule. 

And  unto  power  came. 
Had  they  not  strove  with  heart  and  hand 

To  quell  rebellion  in  the  land. 
And  trample  out  its  flame. 

They  had  been  cursed  for  ever  more 
Throughout  the  land,  from  shore  to  shore, 

Had  they  stood  mute  and  tame, — 
Until  their  haughty  greedy  foe 

Had  ta'en  or  ruin'd  all. 
Had  split  the  realm,  and  wrapped  the  North 

In  shame  and  sorrow's  pall. 
So  well  trimm'd  armies  to  their  aid 

As  swift  as  light  they  brought — 
To  crush  the  fierce  rebellion  low, 

Ay,  bring  it  unto  naught ; 
And  they  have  said  and  done  no  more 

Than  just  the  thing  they  ought. 
This  war  arose  like  all  that  yet 

Within  the  world  have  been — 
And  all  that  e'er  will  roar  and  ring 

Upon  this  Globe  I  ween. 
It  grew  through  lying  tongues  of  those 

Who  in  the  pulpit  preach. 
Whose  proper  business  'tis — good  will 


THE    PR^SIDICIQE.  115 

And  love,  mongst  men  to  teach. 
Yea,  they  who  feign  to  teach  God's  laws 

Unto  their  fellow  men, 
And  scatter  blessings  like  the  dews 

That  fall  on  field  and  fen. 
But  instead  of  acting  like  God's 

Vicegerents  on  the  world, 
And  spreaaing  peace  and  love  'mongst  men 

They  war's  red  flag  unfurl'd. 
Long  naught  but  war  and  politics 

They've  from  the  pulpit  hurld, 
Savage  and  wild  the  preachers  shriek 

Their  bloody  doctrines  forth — 
Unto  their  gaping  congregations, 

Alike  o'er  South  and  North, 
Loud  every  day  the  pulpit  roars 

With  words,  but  not  like  those 
Christ  our  Saviour  taught  alike 

To  all  his  friends  and  foes. 
Pour  forth  bl  od  as  water,  cut  down, 

Burn,  massacre,  and  slay, 
Show  no  quarter  to  a  foe. 

Is  the  gospel  of  the  day. 
Through  them  alone  this  war  to  its 

Fell  magnitude  did  grow, 
They  are  alone  responsible 

For  all  the  nation's  woe. 
Instead  of  rushing  unto  arms 

And  making  discord  ring, 
We  should  have  heed  them  as  the  rock 

Doth  the  scorpion's  sting. 
Some  ones  are  really  good  I  tro ./ 

Amongst  the  gospel  crew. 
Who  strive  to  vvorship  God,  and  do 

As  well  as  flesh  can  do. 
Though  good  or  ill  to  them  betide 

To  mammon  ne'er  are  true, 
Who  strive  to  hide  their  neighbour's  faults, 

Not  point  them  out  to  view 
Who  ne'er  foam'd  forth  vile  politics 

Within  the  house  of  God, 
Nor  pray'd  for  war  to  waste  the  land 

Like  Timour's  scourging  rod. 
But  breathing  peace  and  love  to  men 

The  sacred  pulpit  trod. 
And  these  shine  'mongst  the  gospel  crew 

All  glorious  and  sheen, 
Like  blazing  comets  in  the  sky 

With  mighty  voids  between." 


IIG  THE    PRiESIDICIDE. 

XCVL 

A  blood  red  flush  came  o'er  my  face — 

I  felt  it  burning  there, 
Nor  could  I  speak  an  ample  space 

For  rage,  surprise  and  care. 
First  I  thought,  straight  to  rush  on  him 

And  brain  him  at  a  blow, 
Hold  no  more  parley  with  a  man 

Who  could  desert  me  so. 
At  length  I  calmly  said,  "Tis  true 

Some  preachers  have  had  much  to  do 
In  breeding  up  this  cruel  strife, 

That  had  cost  so  much  blood  and  life, 
For  they  have  made  the  pulpits  grnan 

With  things  they  should  have  left  alone, 
Ay,  every  day  the  pulpit  roars 

With  naught  but  politics  and  wars, 
And  lying  tales  from  them  ; 

They  preach  up  murder,  blood  and  death, 
Applaud  it  with  their  fiendish  breath 

Though  'twere  a  gospel  gem. 
They  wish  for  cities  wrapped  in  fire, 

Cities  sacked,  and  horrors  dire, 
And  things  they  should  condemn. 

They  have  maliciously  stirr'd  up 
The  people's  hate  and  ire, 

Set  South  'gainst  North,  and  North 'gainst  South 
In  battle  fierce  and  dire. 

But  trust  to  me  and  soon  as  we 
Arise  to  rank  and  power, 

For  by  my  soul  I  swear  we  will, 
If  ye'll  not  fear  to  slay  and  kill 

At  the  appointed  hour; 
Then  every  preacher  in  the  land 

Who  e'er  the  pulpit  trod, 
Dared  preach  forth  themes  of  blood  and  war 

Witbin  the  house  of  God, 
We  soon  will  bring  unto  account, 

And  send  them  to  their  graves. 
Or  make  such  ranters  ever  be 

The  meanest  quarry  slaves. 
But  time  speeds  on,  I  must  be  gone, 

And  ere  I  go  know  this — 
He  who  dares  betray  the  plot 

Instant  death  cau  never  miss. 
Ye  all  may  fail  to  act  with  me 

Through  cowardice  of  heart, 
Yet,  nathless  slaughter  there  shall  be. 

For  I  shall  do  my  part. 
And  if  ye  fail  to  help  me  drive 

The  plot  through  thoroughly, 
If  only  part  of  it  be  done, 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  117 

It  will  be  worse  for  every  one 
Who's  leagued  in  it  with  me — 

Though  if  it  all  were  done  complete ; 
Ay,  if  it  fail  you  all  will  meet 

The  gallows  and  the  grave 
As  sure  as  fate,  so  pause  and  wait 

Like  fools  until  it  be  too  late 
Your  necks  from  hemp  to  save 

With  you  I  hold  no  more  debate, 
I  go  my  part  to  brave. 

Curse  on  your  coward  stagnant  souls, 
How  ghast'yye  appear, 

Ye  tremble  now  like  aspen  leaves, 
Ye  putrefy  with  fear  ; 

Ye  look  like  very  statues  of 
Fell  Terror  and  Despair. 

Homer's  Irus  was  a  coward — 
But  ye  are  worse  by  far, 

Grone  is  all  your  manly-hood 
Fear  doth  all  your  spirits  mar. 

Ye  all  would  cower  ere  the  sword 
Flash'd  from  its  shining  sheath, 

Nor  could  ye  as  Irus  stand  till  some 
Ulysses  touched  your  teeth. 

Aha  !  ye  all  are  trembling  still, 
As  sheep  in  mountain  fold 

Ye  quake  with  fear,  when  suddenly 
They  in  their  midst  behold 

The  howling  wolves  and  tigers  come, 
Or  lions  fierce  and  grim, 

Ay,  ay,  like  them  ye  quake  with  fear. 
With  fear  your  eyes  grow  dim. 

Quake  on,  fear  on,  poor  coward  fools, 
Ye  little  know  as  yet 

How  vast  a  bill  ye  owe  the  laws, 
But  ye  shall  pay  the  debt. 

To  night  I  do  a  deed  that  shall 
All  human  senses  rock — 

As  if  the  earth  were  rent  in  twain 
By  some  fell  earthquake  shock. 

I'll  do  it,  though  full  well  I  know 
That  dire,  hate  and  wrath, 

And  Vengeance  fell,  like  dragons  grim 
Will  aye  pursue  my  path. 

And  all  of  ye,  that  e'er  were  seen 
In  company  with  me, 

Will  then  be  seized,  deem'd  privy  to 
The  deed  of  felony. 

No  utter  chance  there'll  be  for  you 
To  'scape  the  felon's  tomb, 


118  THE    PR^:SIDICIDE. 

As  true  as  niizbt  now  shades  tlie  land — 
The  gallows  is  your  doom. 

For  know,  my  plot  is  as  some  tree 
That  is  complete  and  whole, 

Ye  are  the  branches  of  that  tree, 
And  I  the  root  and  bole. 

One  branch  remove,  it  injures  not 
The  stable  trunk,  nor  root, 

Awhile  the  sap  may  flow,  but  soon 
Springs  forth  another  shoot. 

But  let  the  livid  lightning  rend 
Its  stately  bole,  or  wound. 

And  blast  the  vital  roots,  then  all 
The  branches  kiss  the  ground. 

Ho!  ho!  what  trrmbling  still?  if  thus 
Ye  quake  with  mortal  dread 

To  hear  me  speak,  oh,  how  yc'll  quake, 
When  ye  on  the  gallows  tread. 

Vile  worthless  lumps  of  dirt,  without 
A  soul  to  do  or  dare, 

'Tis  but  thoughts  of  corporeal  pain 
That  makes  ye  quail  with  fear, 

And  for  your  soul's  eternal  doom 
Ye  have  no  thought  nor  care, 

Only  death  and  mortal  man  yc  dread, 
Of  God  ye  have  no  fear. 

Poor  lads  how  pale  ye  look,  the  fiends 
Of  Fear  must  ia  ye  dwell, 

If  thus  to  hear  me  speak  ye  quake. 
How  will  ye  face  the  fiery  lake  ? 

The  fusing  fla nes  of  hell  ? 
Ha !  what  will  ye  then  do  ?  when  round 

Ye  vast  and  grim  and  tall, 
The  flames  of  hell  as  ocean's  waves 

'Neath  tempests  leap  and  fall. 
Fear  on  poor  terror  stricken  lads, 

Ay,  tremble  while  ye  may, 
Cowards  your  days  are  number'd  and  soon 

Your  memory  '11  decay, 
Yea,  from  all  thoughts  of  mortal  men 

Ye  soon  will  pass  away, 
As  the  water'd  lilies  reck  not  of 

The  dvought  of  yesterday. 
Payne,  Payne,  farewell  faint-hearted  man, 

i  lavished  love  on  you, 
Like  water  pour'd  upon  the  sand 

Beyond  the  reach  of  mortal  hand 
To  gather  up  anew. 

No  mother  ever  loved  her  child 
Aa  I  have  cherished  you. 

It  grew  to  passion  almost  wild. 


THE    PRiESIDICIDE.  lid 

Would  yours  were  half  as  true 

Oh,  could  I  forget  you  ever  ! 
But  'twould  be  a  vaia  endeavour 

To  cast  you  from  my  mind, 
No  power  on  earth  could  sever 

My  warm  soul  from  you,  no,  never, 
You  there  shall  live  unshrioed 

Through  all  eternity,  and  burn 
Within  this  spirit's  core  ; 

But  farewell  you  faint-hearted  man 
Farewell  forever  more. 

Farewell,  my  love  is  strong  as  death  ; 
My  hatred  savage  as  the  grave  : 

The  coals  thereof  are  coals  of  fire. 
Whose  flame  shall  ever  glow  and  rave.i' 

XCVIT. 

Burning  with  rage,  remorse  and  shame, 

1  darted  like  a  flash  of  flame 
From  out  the  dusky  room, 

My  name  I  thought  I  heard  them  call 
As  I  departed  through  the  hall^ 

1  paused  not  'till  I  reached  the  stall, 
And  found  my  horse  and  groom, 

Already  saddled  was  my  steed, 
I  sprung  on  him  with  lightning  speed, 

And  through  the  mist  and  gloom 
I  rode  upon  my  errand  fell — 

Grlowing  like  demon  hot  from  hell; 
I  reached  the  fatal  place 

I  glided  in  the  Theatre, 
Upon  the  mirth,  uproar  and  stir — 

I  gazed  a  little  space; 
Oh  all  the  place  was  crowded  full ! 

Although  the  play  was  dry  and  dull — 
The  actors  just  the  same, 

Though  poor  the  play,  the  actors  rude, 
Forth  from  that  lively  multitude 

Oft  hearty  cheerings  came. 
But  what  enlivened  so  the  night, 

And  gave  that  audience  delight, 
Ay,  so  their  rapture  fann'd. 

Was  he — who  sat  in  silence  there, 
The  good,  the  noble,  and  sincere, 

The  loved,  the  honor'd,  and  the  dear, 
The  ruler  of  the  land. 

I  saw — and  gazed  a  little  space 
Upon  his  open,  candid  face, 

I  saw  a  passing  smile 
Upon  his  noble  visage  play, 

As  sunbeams  at  the  close  of  day  ; 


120  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

Great  God,  in  fear  I  turn'd  away — 

It  seem'd  its  bright  and  kindly  ray 
Dawn'd  full  on  me  the  while. 

Yea,  full  on  mc  it  fell  and  beam'd 
With  all  its  warmth  serene  ; 

I  know  not  why,  hut  oh  !  it  seem'd 
His  ej^es  on  mine  forever  gleam'd 

With  all  their  glowing  sheen  ! 
Oh,  oft  I  turn'd  my  gaze  away 

And  stol'n-wise  look'd  at  him  ! 
.  But  still  I  found  their  kindly  ray 

Did  still  unswerving  on  me  play, 
It  made  my  senses  swim. 

A  low  dull  sound  rung  in  mine  ear 
All  the  while  I  was  standing  there, 

A  sullen,  mournful  sound,  and  drear, 
It  smote  my  soul  and  sense  with  fear, 

And  made  me  pant  for  breath. 
Deep,  deeper  came  those  murmurs  low — 

As  though  a  spirit  wail'd  in  woe 
Above  the  coming  death. 

My  breast  could  scarce  my  thoughts  oontsin 
,  All  hell  was  flashing  in  my  brain 

And  surging  in  my  soul, 
Swift  towards  the  outer  door  I  sped, 

Trembling  with  more  than  mortal  iread — 
And  keen  anxiety,  my  head 

Hot  as  a  burning  coal. 
And  as  I  pass'd  from  out  the  door 

I  turn'd  and  looked  at  him  once  more, 
Still  beam'd  his  eye  on  me, 

And  still  that  bright  celestial  smile 
Was  beaming  down  on  me  the  while 

With  sunny  brilliancy. 
'Sdeath  !  I  could  not  slay  that  man 

For  all  the  gold  on  earth's  broad  span — 
Nor  do  him  aught  of  harm — 

While  his  keen  gaze  was  hx'd  on  me, 
He  look'd  so  kind  and  fatherly 

I  could  not  raise  my  arm 
To  point  my  pistol  to  his  head, 

It  seem'd  my  p'lrpose  dark  and  dread, 
And  all  my  rage  and  bate  had  fled, 

Before  that  kindly  smile  he  shed, 
As  at  a  mighty  charm, 

Yea,  awhile  all  fell  vengeance  sped, 
And  left  a  love  for  him  instead. 

XCYIII. 

I  read  strange  tales  long,  long  agone 
Of  murder,  crime,  and  woe, 


THE    PRiESIDICIDE.  121 

Of  valiant  men  and  good  who  died 

By  the  assassin's  blow. 
In  all  it  seem'd  those  men  would  feel 

By  instinct,  swift  as  light, 
The  presence  of  their  mortal  foe 

Ere  he  approach'd  their  sight, 
Ay,  long  ere  they  had  cause  to  fear 

The  coming  woe  and  harm, 
Or  cause  to  fancy  they  should  die 

By  any  human  arm. 
But  when'er  he  who  did  the  deed — 

Though  it  was  years  ahead — 
Chanced  to  come  within  their  presence — 

Or  when  they  heard  his  tread 
A  sudden  feeling  wild  and  strange 

Would  through  their  being  go. 
Their  eyes  by  instinct  turn'don  him — 

With  keer.cr  sharper  glow 
Than  they  were  ever  known  to  shine 

On  aught  on  earth  before. 
This  may  but  be  the  phantasy, 

Or  lies  and  nothing  more. 
Of  those  who  penn'd  those  thrilling  tales 

Of  horror,  crime  and  gore. 
I  cannot  tell,  but  this  I  know, 

In  haste  three  times  I  went 
Within  that  merry  Theatre 

To  slay  the  President; 
And  every  time  I  enter'd  there — 

Just  ere  I  reached  the  spot 
Where  I  could  take  a  steady  aim, 

Make  certain  that  my  shot — 
Would  send  him  to  his  long  account 

His  oyes  would  turn  on  me. 
Ay,  gaze  on  me  all  kind  and  sheen 

Just  as  his  face  I'd  see. 
And  every  time  I  met  his  stare — 

Smiles  his  visage  wore,  frank  as  e'er 
On  mortal  face  we'll  find, 

The  while  from  head  to  heel  I  shook, 
For  in  his  open  candid  look 

I  read  as  from  a  seraph's  book 
Good  will  to  all  mankind. 

Three  times  I  strode  with  hasty  pace 
That  Theatre  within, 

Resolved  to  let  a  bullet  fly — 
And  do  the  deed  of  sin, 

And  three  times  did  I  retire 
From  out  that  fatal  place — 

With  panting  heart,  and  reeling  step 
And  brain,  and  burning  face. 


122  THE    PRiSrPICIDE. 

Had  I  bnt  mark'd  a  frown  or  sneer 
Acroi>s  his  featnres  crawl 

The  while  I  ga^ed  upon  him  there 
rd  felt  no  fear  at  all 

In  taking  stire  and  steady  aim, 
And  doing  the  fell  deed, 

Tea,  I"d  paused  not  but  done  it 
With  all  the  devil  s  speed. 

Each  time  I  gaied  on  him,  he  looked 
All  kindly  and  sincere. 

Though  he  ne'er  harbored  thought  nor  wish 
But  what  the  world  might  hear. 

Upon  his  face  I  failed  to  trace 
Ausht  but  universal  love 

To  all  hia  fellow  men  on  earth. 
And  trust  in  Gri:>d  above. 

And  so  I  could  not  slay  the  man 
Wbile  thus  he  sazed  on  me, 

I  eoold  not  find  it  in  my  heart 
To  act  so  emelly; 

'Twould  been  as  parricide  done  with 
A  fiend's  ferocity. 

XCIX. 

There  was  a  tavern  close  at  hand 

To  which  I  hied  with  speed. 
There  I  poured  down  wine  as  water 

To  steel  me  to  the  deed. 
Soon  I  felt  it  fire  my  brain, 

And  with  it  renseanee  came. 
My  blood  went  bouLdins  through  each  vein 

Like  rushing  liquid  flame. 
For  hate  was  in  me  strong  as  death, 

And  cruel  as  the  grave, 
Fiery  as  the  Simooms'  breaths 

That  o'er  Sahara  rave ; 
And  jealousy  as  fierce  and  fell 

As  ocean's  angry  wave — 
That  draws  the  ship-wrect'd  seaman  towards 

The  Maelstrom's  dread  abyss. 
'Where  ghastlj  green-eyed  monsters  war. 

And  Iong-toQ2tied  dragons  hiss. 
And  where  'midst  racing  roaring  brine 

The  bones  of  men  are  toas'd. 
The  bones  of  ship- wrecked  marineiB 

Through  coiuitkas  a^es  lost. 
Headlong  it  spins  him  round  and  round, 

Rejoicing  at  his  doom. 
Still  Barroving  at  every  bound. 

To  that  dread  brim  still  closer  wound, 
That  rim  of  spray  and  spume. 

Then  whirk  him  in  that  gulf  profound 


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124  THE    PR.TiSIDICIDE. 

I  felt  his  breath  upon  my  cheek 

'Twas  fetid  arid  air — 
Like  that  supposed  to  issue  from 

Dread  hell's  most  foul  abyss  j 
An  unseen  serpent  coil'd  around 

My  arm,  I  heard  it  hiss. 
Swift,  noiseless  as  the  devil  moves 

When  on  some  errand  dread, 
I  drew  my  pistol  from  my  breast 

And  aim'd  it  at  his  head. 
Forth  went  the  bullet  through  his  brain 

With  sad  and  sullen  roar, 
I  saw  the  crimson  blood  stream  forth, 

And  rush  upon  the  floor. 
Oh  then  great  God  the  deed  was  done  ! 

The  blackest  deed  that  earth — 
Has  known  or  witness'd  since  the  fiends 

And  devil  had  their  birth. 
I  drew  my  dagger  from  its  sheath 

And  leaped  upon  the  stage, 
For  I  was  wild  and  frantic  then 

With  demon  fear  and  rage, 
And  Terror  strung  each  thew  and  nerve 

With  more  than  human  force, 
With  strength  that  is  not  of  this  world ; 

I  was  strong  as  the  torrent  hurl'd 
Adown  its  Alpine  course. 

Fear  joined  with  crime  more  daring  owns 
By  far  than  courage  hath. 

Courage  is  not  strong  nor  fierce  as  Fear, 
Nor  half  its  strength  has  Wrath, 

And  had  some  flame  or  yawning  gulf, 
Or  danger  cross'd  my  path, 

I'd  leapt  o'er  them,  nor  paused  to  think 
Of  any  shock  nor  scath  ! 

So  agile  and  so  strong  I  felt. 
So  desperate  and  fell, 

I  would  have  braved  the  jaws  of  Death 
And  all  the  fiends  of  heil — 

To  clear  me  but  one  hour  from 
That  dread  infernal  place, 

So  I  might  gaze  no  longer  on 
That  slaughtered  Chieftain's  face 

And  had  a  thousand  sturdy  men 
All  armed  with  sword  and  spear 

But  strove  to  block  my  passage  then, 
Or  stop  my  fierce  career. 

I  do  most  verily  believe 
I  had  not  stood  at  bay, 

But  through  and  through  their  hostile  ranks 
Have  hewn  my  gory  way ; 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  125 

Yea,  as  the  reaper  cuts  right  through 
The  yellow  ripened  grain 

And  spreads  it  all  in  even  swaths 
Along  the  harvest  plain. 

Or  made  them  fly  like  ocean's  spray 
When  the  black  squall  doth  blow, 

Or  like  reeds  that  in  the  flood-time 
Spin  down  the  whirling  Po. 

My  brain  was  red-hot  liquid  flame 
Like  that  which  seethes  in  hell, 

When  I  leaped  forth  upon  the  stage 
With  panther  spring  and  yell. 

That  dread  moment  I  seem'd  endowed 
With  strength  and  terror  fell, 

Crazed  and  nerved  beyond  the  power 
Of  human  voice  to  tell. 

For  some  one  I  know  was  hired 
To  out  the  lights  around — 

Just  soon  as  my  pistol  fired, 
Ay,  at  the  very  sound, 

So  outward  I  might  safely  rush 
Amidst  the  gloom  profound. 

But  while  I  ruslied  across  the  stage 
The  place  was  bright  as  day, 

No  one  had  dimmed  the  lights,  it  seem'd 
They  shone  with  brighter  ray. 

Then  through  the  rearward  door  I  went 
With  more  than  lightning's  speed, 

Then  down  the  narrow  street  I  rushed 
And  vaulted  on  my  steed 

All  had  been  done  as  swift  as  thought, 
Yea,  like  a  flish  of  flame 

I  flew  in  the  place,  did  the  deed. 
Then  outward  shouting  came. 

'Twas  done  so  quick,  so  rapidly, 
So  swift,  so  sudden,  and  so  free, 

It  even  seem'd  to  me — 
To  be  a  passing  flying  dream, 

And  not  reality. 
And  when  I  sprung  upon  the  stage 

Not  one  knew  what  it  meant, 
Not  e'en  the  ones  who  sat  around 

The  slaughtered  President, 
So  swift  I  spvung  upon  the   stage. 

So  swift  from  it  I  went, 
That  all  that  multitude  around 

Sat  gaping  with  surprise. 
All  dumb  and  mute  they  sat  with 

Parted  lips  and  straining  eyes, 
Wrapt  in  such  vast  astonishment 

Not  one  of  them  could  rise. 


I2()  THE    PR^SIDICIDE. 

CT. 

Deep,  deep  and  fast  my  rowels  sank 

Within  my  charger's  foamy  flank, 
O'er  ditch,  and  fence,  and  clift,  and  meed^ 

He  thu'ider'd  on  with  billow's  speed 
When  tempests  are  abroad  ; 

He  flew  as  though  he  well  could  heed 
The  danger  of  his  lord. 

With  spur  and  rein  his  flight  I  cheer'd 
'Till  morning  in  the  sky  appear'd, 

Then  towards  a  lonely  wood  I  steer'd 
That  stood  a  mile  before 

There,  in  his  rapid  flight  I  rear'd, 
And  sprung  to  earth  once  more. 

But  oh  the  pain,  that  smote  me  then  ! 
Thn  keen  and  bitter  pain, 

It  sent  a  thrill  through  all  my  form, 
I  felt  it  in  my  brain. 

When  I  that  fearful  leap  had  made 
That  night  unto  the  stage — 

Although  I  did  not  feel  it  then 
Through  fear,  and  haste,  and  rage, 

A  slender  bone  within  my  leg 
Broke  as  I  touched  the  floor, 

And  now  the  points  pierced  through  the  skin 
A  half  an  inch  and  more. 

I  strove  to  soothe  my  broken  limb, 
But  all  my  toil  was  vain, 

And  Terror  mated  with  Despair 
Made  all  my  pain  more  pain. 

Soon    Harold  journey'd  up  to  me, 
Then  ofi"  to  Mudd's  we  went, 

Though  at  each  move  I  made,  my  wound 
Pains  through  my  body  sent. 

CII. 
We  went  to  Mudd's,  for  well  knew  he 

About  the  dark  Conspiracy, 
We  met  him  at  his  door. 

We  told  him  of  the  murder  grim; 
He  strove  to  set  my  broken  limb, 

And  fix  it  right  once  more. 
But  all  the  while  he  bent  o'er  me, 

He  trembled  like  an  aspen  tree. 
And  ghastly  looked  his  brow, 

Nor  has  he  set  the  bone  aright. 
Perhaps  he  could  not  for  his  fright. 

Perhaps  he  knew  not  how. 

cm. 

On,  on,  I  flew  o'er  field  and  fen 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  127 

With  Harold  by  my  side, 
He  swore  to  aid  me  in  my  fligKt 

And  be  my  friend  and  guide, 
And  lead  me  throupli  these  lonely  swamps 

No  matter  what  betide. 
And  in  this  damp  and  lonely  bield 

Just  ere  the  night  closed  in — 
Just  ere  this  driving  storm  with  all 

Its  fury  did  begins— 
Alone  he  left  me  here,  while  he 

Went  forth  with  trembling  tread — 
To  seek  among  the  sons  of  men 

One  little  piece  of  bread, 
To  ease  that  craving  agony 

Which  at  our  vitals  gnaws. 
For  fell  hunger  will  drive  mankind 

Within  the  lion's  jaws 
And  ah,  they  must  have  captured  him  ! 

Or  else  he's  gone  astray, 
I  know  he  would  not  willingly 

Have  stay'd  so  long  away. 
Ah  me  !   he  must  have  fallen  in 

The  clutches  of  the  law  ; 
And  that  crowd  of  flying  horsemen 

That  just  ere  dusk  I  saw — 
Scouring  along  by  yonder  wood 

Perchance  have  taken  him. 
Perchance  this  very  night  he  hangs 

Upon  6ome  gallows  grim. 
If  they  have  captured  him,  oh  Grod  1 

They  soon  will  have  me  too, 
For  he's  not  over  firm  of  mind, 

Nor  yet  the  bravest  of  mankind, 
And  he  may  give  some  clue — 

To  them,  so  me  they  may  easy  find. 
And  me  for  aye  undo. 

CIV. 

Oh  God  !  perchance  those  horsemen — 

Or  spies  are  around  me  now. 
Hark  !  a  strange  moving  then  I  heard 

Upon  yon  maple  bough. 
Men  by  thousands  will  be  after  me 

And  seek  me  far  and  near, 
For  a  price  is  set  upon  my  head. 

Those  who  capture  me  alive  or  dead 
Will  ample  fortunes  share. 

Harold  I  should  not  have  sent  for  food, 
Better  to  starve  and  die 

Alone  in  woe  and  agony, 
Than  die  a  death  of  infamy 


128-  THE    ril.ESIDICIDE. 

Upon  the  scaffold  bigli. 
But  to  DO  gallows  shall  I  go, 

Lost  and  wretched  as  I  am 
No  such  vile  disgrace  and  shame 

My  latest  hour  shall  damn. 
My  soul  shall  leave  its  mortal  form 

Midst  scenes  of  strife  and  battle  storm; 
While  blood  flows  round  me  red  and  warm, 

Midst  scenes  of  smoke  and  flame, 
I'll  die  as  doth  the  lion  die — 

When  his  young    lound  him  slaughter'd  lie. 
Whose  courage  and  ferocity 

No  earthly  force  can  tame, 
Who  fears  not  when  he  sees  his  foes 

Surround  his  bloody  den, 
Who  dies  while  biting,  tearing  hard 

'Moagst  dying  hounds  and  men. 
My  soul  shall  leave  its  earthly  frame 

As  doth  the  huge  volcano's  flame 
Quit  the  crater  with  a  roar. 

That  sends  one  sudden  blaze  of  lisht 
Across  the  land,  then  sinks  to  night 

And  gloom  forever  more. 

CV- 

But  ere  I  sink  into  the  grave 

Right  gladly  would  I  know — 
If  any  other  in  the  plot 

Did  dare  to  strike  a  blow 
That  night  save  mo,  I  fain  would  know 

Who  was  murder'd  on  that  night, 
And  where  the  rest  who  leagued  with  me 

Have  hid  or  ta'en  their  flight, 
For  Harold  is  the  only  one 

That  I  have  fix'd  my  eyes  upon— 
Ever  since  that  tremendous  time 
I  went  to  perpetrate  the  crime. 
And  left  them  gaping  one  and  all 

At  me  in  Dame  Surratt's  old  hall, 
Half  drunk,  and  ready  for  a  brawl. 

But  they  were  cowards  all  at  heart, 
Not  much  they  did  I  trow. 

For  when  I  left  them  there,  I  saw 
Fear,  stamp'd  upon  each  brow. 

If  aught  that  night  was  done  by  them 
In  shape  of  felony, 

'Twas  Dame  Surratt  who  urged  them  on, 
They  would  not  strike  for  me. 

She  may  have  spurr'd  them  to  the  deed, 
For  she  was  sly  and  keen, 

Knew  well  the  way  to  lead  astray 
Such  wretches  low  and  mean. 


THE    PR^SIDICIDE.  129 

CVI. 

Away,  away  witli  thoughts  like  these, 

Why  think  of  dogs  like  them  ? 
They  are  not  worthy  e'en  to  touch 

The  devil's  garment  hem, 
Not  one  of  them  shall  die  like  me, 

They  are  too  vile  and  low — 
And  far  too  cowardly  to  fall 

With  face  unto  their  foe. 
They'll  all  upon  the  gallows  swing — 

The  scorn  of  human  kind, 
The  hate,  derision,  and  contempt, 

Of  e'en  the  dark  in  mind 
But  my  fell  earthly  race  shall  end, 

My  spirit  from  its  body  wend 
Midst  scenes  of  blood  and  fire, 

Amidst  the  clash  and  crash  of  steel, 
And  combat  fierce  and  dire. 

My  hands  are  on  my  carbine  now. 
My  dagger  'tween  my  teeth, 

And  they  who  dare  to  venture  near, 
A  bullet  through  each  heart  shall  tear, 

Be  each  my  dagger's  sheath. 
I'll  die  as  doth  befit  the  slayer 

Of  so  great  a  man, 
Though  sorely  now  I  rue  the  deed 

As  any  mortal  can. 
And  though  I  acted  cowardly 

And  low  and  mean,  and  vile, 
By  sneaking  up  behind  the  man 

And  killing  in  that  style. 
Such  cowardice  shall  not  disgrace 

My  latest  hour  on  earth, 
Ah  no  !  I  shall  not  so  besmirch 

The  land  that  gave  me  birth  ! 
His  dark,  untimely,  cruel  death 

The  world  shall  ever  mourn, 
And  bards  shall  sing  his  worth  and  fame 

To  ages  yet  unborn. 
And  they  shall  tell  of  him  who  did 

The  dark  atrocious  crime, 
Through  it  my  name  shall  ever  live 

Through  all  revolving  time. 
Good  nicQ  and  brave  may  be  forgot, 

Oblivion  aye  hide  the  spot 
Their  dust  and  fame  are  nursed. 

But  while  men  breathe  on  earth  they'll  hear 
With  shudders  of  revenge  and  fear 

Of  me,  the  fell,  accurs'd. 
This  generation  of  mankind 

May  seek  to  hide  my  name, 


130,  THE    PB^SIDICIDE.       j. 

The  next  that  comes  will  seek  to  know 
Who  dealt  the  fierce  tremendous  blow, 

And  wrou2;ht  the  deed  of  shame. 
My  name  like  Eratostratus — 

Though  wrapt  in  blood  and  crime, 
Shall  live  in  spite  of  man  and  fiend 

Through  all  the  tide  of  time. 

CVII. 

'Sdeath  !  how  fierce  the  lightnings  flash, 

How  dread  the  thunders  boom — 
The  world,  a  moment's  light  they  give, 

Then  tumult  and  donee  gloom. 
The  tempests  howl,  the  torrents  roar 

In  headlong  fury  by, 
Oh  there  is  madness  on  the  earth  1 

And  anger  in  the  sky. 
And  there  is  madness  in  my  soul. 

And  horror  in  my  mind, 
Sorrow,  Eemorse,  and  grim  Pespair, 

All  visit  me  combined. 
As  lightning  bolts  my  aching  soul 

They  blast,  and  wound,  and  tear, 
Yea,  fierce  lightning  bolts  self  forged 

In  intramundane  air. 
Ah  !  pain  and  fear  and  every  ill 

Hold  form  and  soul  in  thrall. 
Yea,  every  ill  that  e'er  was  born 

On  this  terrestrial  ball — 
Since  first  it  sprung  in  airy  space 

'Midst  creation's  mighty  plan — 
And  there  before  the  sun's  bright  disk 

Its  revolving  course  began. 
'Tis  by  the  sun's  magnetic  force 

This  world  io  space  is  held, 
By  it,  earth  lives  in  air,  by  it 

From  other  worlds  repeld. 
And  if  that  empyreal  sphere 

Should  wither  from  the  sky — 
Earth  would  bolt  through  space-and  in  dark 

Primeval  chaos  die. 
So  by  Faith  alone  the  spirit  lives 

And  hopes  and  trusts  in  God, 
If  not  for  Faith  dark  man's  soul  would  be 

In  its  corporeal  clod. 
Faith  like  the  sun  that  holds  and  guides 

And  keeps  this  world  aright — 
Illumes  and  cheers  the  soul  of  man — 

Else  all  were  hell  and  ni2;ht. 


& 


Earth  weighed  in  God's  vast  universe 


'o 


But  one  mere  atom  lies — 


THE    TRiESIDICIDE.  131 

As  one  of  its  small  grains  of  sand 

Placed  in  a  scale  with  a  world  more  grand 
And  billion  times  earth's  size 

So  every  deathless  soul  of  man 
Though  in  itsself  a  world,  and  'gan 

Ere  earth's  sepulchral  clod- 
Is  but  a  mere  slight  atom  of 

The  all  pervading  God. 
He  is  the  centre  source  and  life 

Of  every  earth  bound  soul — 
All  are  but  mere  parts  of  Him, 

He's  the  vast  stupendous  whole. 
All  atoms,  souls,  suns,  stars,  and  worlds 

Are  His  to  sway  and  rule, 
He's  all  wise,  benign,  beneficent, 

And  man  is  but  a  fool. 
Shall  He  who  from  nothing  formed 

All  vast  ethereal  globes — 
Fill'd  them  with  life,  and  deck'd  them  all 

With  grand  and  glowing  robes  ! 
Not  cleanse  a  death  ess  soul  fr(jm  crime ! 

Yea,  make  it  pure  again — 
As  first  it  sprung  from  llis  own  hand 

All  free  from  every  stain  ? 
Yea  Him  to  whom  no  mortal  yet 

Has  ever  call'd  in  vain  ? 

CVITI. 

Blow,  blow  ye  winds  forever  blow 

O'er  forest,  hill  and  plain, 
Ay,  howl  and  groan  like  angry  fiends 

In  everlasting  pain. 
And  flash  ye  streams  of  lightning  flash, 

And  roll  ye  thunders  roll, 
For  nothing  else  this  awful  night 

Can  cheer  my  madden'd  soul. 
All  my  blood  like  heated  lava 

Is  rushing  through  each  vein, 
And  a  fell  volcano's  fire 

Is  pent  within  my  brain. 
Ten  thousand  dreadful  forms  come  round — 

They  beckon  me  away, 
"%,  fly,  and  hide  thyself  in  hell"' 

Each  spectre  seems  to  say. 
A  long,  dark,  sad  funeral  train 

Aye  moves  before  my  eye  and  brain. 
Strange  sounds  ring  in  mine  ear, 

I  see  a  corpse  all  pale  and  white, 
Whose's  eyes  still  open  glare 

In  wrath  and  rage  at  me.  Oh  God  ! — 
I  cannot  stand  their  stare  1 


lo2  THE     PRiESIDICIDE. 

Ah  !  who  art  thou  beside  me  now  ! 
With  sunken  cheeks  and  ghastly  brow? 

And  thin  and  frightful  form  ? 
Art  thou  Death  to  whom  mortals  bow 

In  war,  peace,  shine  and  storm  ? 
"Who  summons  to  another  sphere 

The  children  of  this  earth  ? 
Who  o'er  men  and  bensts  holds  sway 

From  hour  of  their  birth  ? 
If  thou  art  he  whom  all  men  fear, 

Then  bid  this  mortal  dark  and  drear, 
Rise  and  mount  his  funeral  bier. 

Ah,  Death  I  welcome  thee! 
For  here  I  would  no  longer  live. 

All  hell  no  deeper  woes  can  give 
Than  my  past  agony. 

Why  leave  a  wretched  cripple  here 
Rack'd  with  Hunger,  Want,  and  Woe  ? 

Fell  Horror,  Terror,  and  Despair  ? 
Mated  with  Anguish  dark  and  drear  ? 

Ah,  take  me  forth  !   [  care  not  where 
With  thee  I  have  to  go, 

Take  me  forth  thou  dreadful  power, 
Let  this  be  my  dying  hour. 

Come  to  a  lost  and  maddened  soul, 
That  pants,  that  struggles  for  repose, 

Ah  !  bid  me  haste  and  reach  the  goal 
Where  earthly  pains  and  sorrows  close ! 

Aha!  the  last  dim  morn  has  come, — 
My  flame  of  life  burns  feebly  now  ! 

Death,  come  Death,  all  my  pains  benumb, 
And  smooth  my  cold  and  dewy  brow. 

My  sands  of  life  are  almost  run, 
And  grain  by  grain  I  feel  them  go  ; 

Let  me  not  view  yon  rising  sun, 
'Twould  treble  all  my  ghastly  woe  ! 

How  dim  all  things  around  me  grow  ! 


THE  BATTLE  OF  ANTTETAM. 


A  Ballad  for  the  Soldier. 


BY  J.  DUNBAR  HYLTON. 


I. 

Now  all  ye  good  men  of  the  Union, 

With  loyal  hearts  and  brave, 
Who  still  stand  by  the  gay  old  flag 

That  still  o'er  ye  doth  wave. 
All  ye  who  for  your  country's  right, 

And  for  her  Liberty, 
Would  meet  the  strongest  foe  that  breathes, 

And  die  or  still  be  free. 
Come  and  make  a  circle  round  me, 

A  story  I  would  tell, 
How  we  at  dread  Antietam  fought, 

How  gallantly  we  fell. 
For  I  am  a  war-worn  soldier 

All  seamed  with  grisly  scars, 
A  wreck  tossed  on  the  shore  of  peace 

By  raging  surge  of  wars. 
I've  told  you  how  on  many  a  field 

We've  nobly  fought  and  bled. 
How  hot,  and  grim,  with  blood  and  dust 

We've  stalked  o'er  fields  of  dead. 
I've  told  you  how  on  bank  and  stream 

In  seasons  warm  and  cold, 
Northern  hosts  and  Southern  legions 

Joined  in  their  battles  bold, 
'Till  the  dark  cold  waves  were  flowing 

Red,  thick  and  warm  with  blood. 
Ha,  dauntless  sons  of  North  and  South 

How  we've  choked  the  crimson  flood ! 
I've  told  you  of  the  fame  and  glory 

That  gleamed  so  bright  and  pure 
Upon  the  crests  of  those  who  fell 

On  Shilo's  cumbered  moor. 
But  now  your  eyes  shall  open  wide 

As  at  a  trumpet's  call, 
I'll  tell  you  of  the  fellcst  fight, 

And  sternest  deed  of  all. 
I'm  a  war-worn  soldier,  in  whom 

Stern  woe  with  triumph  blends  ; 
For  I've  sought  'mongst  the  wasted  ranks 

And  missed  my  dearest  friends. 
They  all  are  hushed  in  death's  repose, 

'Midst  streams  of  clotted  gore, 


lo4  THE  BATTLE  OP  ANTIETAM. 

For  them,  Ruin  lay  behind  us, 

And  Yentreance  stalked  before. 
For  they  were  martyrs,  those  who  died 

Amidst  the  smoke  and  flame — 
And  ghastly  thunders  of  the  fray, 

'Twas  for  Country's  trust  and  fame ; 
And  honored  through  all  coming  time 

Shall  be  each  hero's  name. 
All  ye  who  live  in  quiet  homes 

In  luxury  and  ease  ; 
Who  never  faced  the  front  of  war 

On  land  or  rolling  seas; 
Little  ye  think  how  terribly 

That  day  the  cannon  roar'd, 
How  on  the  ranks  of  horse  and  foot 

The  shot  and  shell  was  pour'd. 
Little  ye  think  how  fiercely 

That  day  the  war-horns  peal'd, 
How  in  the  reeking  swamps  of  gore 

The  furious  squadron's  reel'd; 
How  thick  the  ghastly  limbs  of  men 

Were  scattered  o'er  the  field. 
There  was  no  heart  in  either  host. 

But  was  to  pity  steel'd, 
And  well  did  the  chiefs  of  either  host 

That  day  their  armies  wield. 
For  all  that  skill  or  force  could  do 

To  win  the  ghastly  fray, 
By  gallant  Lee  and  brave  McClellau 
Was  done  that  bloody  day. 
II. 
Oh  !  fell  and  goriest  battle 

That  with  ruin  all  outshines, 
Far  surpassing  Shilo  dread, 
And  Battle  of  the  Pines. 
How  thick  the  dead  lay  scattered 

Along  the  mountain  side. 
How  fast  adowa  the  gullies  ran 

The  dark  red  crimson  tide, 
Until  Antietam's  rolling  fli  od 
With  human  gore  was  dyed. 
For  columns  with  columns  mingled  fast 

'Mid  storms  of  grape  and  shell 
And  lost  forever  more,  in  one 
Promiscuous  carnage  fell. 

in. 

Oh!  well  can  I  recall  the  scene 
That  dark  and  starless  night, 

When  by  ten  thousands  round  we  lay 
Awaiting  for  the  fight. 


THE    BATTLE    oF    ANTIETAM.  ISf) 

There  from  all  climes  beneath  the  sun 

Were  warriors  fierce  and  strong, 
Ay,  men  from  every  distant  isle 

Had  gathered  in  that  throng. 
But  chiefly  from  our  own  dear  land 

The  gallant  squadrons  came, 
To  crush  the  raging  civil  war, 

And  trample  out  its  flame. 
They  came  from  where  Atlantic  billows 

Thunder,  leap  and  roar, 
From  where  the  Pacific's  waters 

Lave  the  proud  rocky  shore. 
They  came  from  all  the  States  that  boast 

The  red,  the  white  and  blue, 
All  those  who  to  the  good  old  flag, 

Bear  loyal  hearts  and  true. 
And  far  away  o'er  hill  and  valley 

The  Southern  host  was  spread, 
And  with  their  countless  camp  fires 

The  cloudy  sky  was  red. 

IV. 

Bight  glad  were  we  when  o'er  the  gloom 

The  rays  of  morning  reign, 
And  saw  Aurora  robe  in  light 

The  hills,  and  stream  and  plain. 
Then  beat  of  drums  and  cannons  roar 

The  grave-like  stillness  broke. 
And  with  one  start,  and  with  one  shout. 

The  Northern  army  woke. 
And  far  away  to  left  and  right 

Where'er  the  vision  came, 
So  dazzling  shone  bayonet,  sword  and  lance, 

The  armies  seemed  on  flame. 
And  far  away  o'er  Southern  hills 

Well  could  the  Northmen  spy 
Long  moving  clouds  of  swarthy  dust 

Loom  up  along  the  sky. 
And  nearer  still,  and  nearer. 

We  saw  the  black  whirlwind  come, 
With  loud,  glorious  trumpet  clang, 

And  stormy  roll  of  drum. 
But  little  time  had  we  to  gaze, 
On  the  storm,  or  Aurora's  rays. 

And  mark  her  beams  on  armor  shine, 

For  we  were  ordered  into  line. 
Bight  swift  each  leader  drew  his  brand 

While  eyes  like  lightnings  glow. 
And  shouted  forth  his  stern  command — 

"Advance  upon  the  foe." 


136  THE    BATTLE    OF    ANTIETAM. 

V, 

Now,  with  banners  spread  and  clamors  dread, 
Either  host  to  gory  slaughter  sped ; 
Like  a  mighty  torrent,  broad  and  strong, 
The  Northern  army  roU'd  along 

With  glorious  trumpet  peal. 
Like  the  roar  of  the  sullen  deep, 
When  o'er  her  howling  tempests  sweep. 
And  on  the  shores  her  billows  leap, 
'Till  huge  rocks  groan  and  reel. 
And  thunders  the  while  their  revel  keep 

With  the  fell  storm  below  ; 
So  with  awful  tumult  vast  and  deep, 
Adown  the  mountains  dark  and  steep 

Rushed  on  the  foaming  foe, 
By  thousands,  horse  and  foot,  they  came. 
With  brandished  steel  and  hearts  on  flame, 

To  the  ghastly  work  of  death; 
And  their  loud  savage  wild  acclaim, 

E'en  drown'd  the  trumpet's  breath. 

VL 

The  furious  armies  met  like  clouds. 

Driven  by  contending  storms. 
When  they  come  surcharged  with  thunder, 

And  lightnings  robe  their  forms. 
Columns  of  smoke  hid  plain  and  hill, 

No  eye  the  sun  could  scan, 
And  like  rivers  beneath  their  feet 

The  gory  torrents  ran 
But  onward,  onward,  still  they  rushed. 

And  wilder  grew  the  din 
Of  hissing  shot  and  bursting  shell. 

And  roaring  culverin. 
And  awful  was  the  clash  of  steel, 
And  fierce  the  war-horns  peal'd, 
And  fast  in  hellish  tumult 

To  and  fro  the  armies  reel'd. 
As  before  contending  tempests 
Is  toss'd  the  howling  ocean. 
So  to  and  fro  the  battle  rock'd 

In  dire,  fierce  commotion. 
And  thicker  still,  and  thicker. 

Came  down  the  iron  rain, 
Screaming,  bursting,  down  it  came, 

And  hid  the  field  with  slain. 
And  fast  o'er  their  slaughter'd  comrades 

The  hinder  columns  flow'd, 
'Mid  sulphurous  gloom  they  rushed. 

Save  when  the  mortars  glow'd. 
And  louder  than  the  cannons'  roar, 


THE    BATTLE    OF    ANTIETAM.  137 

And  horrid  burst  of  shell, 
And  armor's  clang  and  horses'  tramp 

Was  heard  the  dying  yell. 
VII. 
As  down  the  mountains  bleak  and  hoar 
Impetuous  torrents  leap  and  roar, 
Increased  by  a  thousand  rushing  rills, 
They  thunder  down  the  echoing  hills 
To  the  vales  below,  then  o'er  the  plain 
Rush  foaming  to  the  raging  main, 
So  battalion  on  battalion  came, 

With  promiscuous  sound 
Still  rushing  'mid  the  awful  gloom 

Of  that  affray  profound. 
As  when  fell  Eoreas  blows  and  brings 
The  winter  on  his  icy  wings ; 
Fast  from  the  clouds  the  sheets  of  snow 
Descend,  and  hide  the  fields  below. 
So  thick,  so  fast  the  batteries  round 
Pour'd  shot  and  shell  with  horrid  sound, 
So  thick  were  driven  o'er  the  crowds, 
The  screeching,  burning  iron  clouds, 
And  as  autumnal  leaves  are  strew'd 
Before  the  tempest  wild  and  rude. 
As  snow  beside  the  mountain  dun 
Is  wasted  by  the  summer  sun, 
So  thick,  so  fast  the  squadrons  fell 

Before  each  fatal  roar, 
And  whole  ranks  were  hurl'd  to  atom* 

Amid  a  sea  of  gore. 

VIII. 

But  deeper  still  the  combat  grew 

Along  the  hill  and  vale; 
And  faster  still  the  showers  flew 

Of  burning  iron  haU. 
Our  ranks  were  backward  driven 

Before  the  Southern  tide, 
Like  chaff  before  the  winds  of  heaven 

We  flew  on  every  side. 
As  ocean's  foaming  waves  are  whirl'd 

From  the  strong  swarthy  coast. 
So  we  were  broken,  backward  hurl'd 

Before  the  Southern  host. 
Like  wolves  upon  a  flying  fold 

The  foes  came  howling  on  ; 
Ay,  hard  upon  our  broken  rear 

The  Souhtern  bayonet  shone. 
"All,  alas,  is  lost,"  each  soldier  said, 

And  shrieking,  panting  flew. 
As  in  one  seething  mass  we  fled. 


138  THE    BATTLE    OF    ANTIETAM. 

The  horrors  rose  anew. 
Beneath  the  strong  the  weak  were  thrown, 

Bruised  by  their  comrades'  tiead, 
And  far  along  the  field  was  strown 

With  dying  and  with  dead. 

IX. 

It  is  a  dread  and  awful  hour 

When  all  by  dust  conceal'd, 
Two  armies  meet  to  try  their  power 

On  fair  and  open  field. 
It  is  a  dreadful  thing  to  hear, 

The  first  dread  shock  of  war; 
E'en  earth  doth  seem  to  groan  with  fear, 

And  rock  beneath  the  jar. 
Like  tempests  on  the  armies  go, 

And  burn  with  one  desire, 
Though  cannon  roar  and  mortars  nour 

Their  blast  of  steel  and  fire  ; 
The  horses  neigh,  the  trumpets  bray. 

And  rolls  the  stormy  drum  ; 
While  with  banners  spread  to  ghastly  death, 

The  frantic  thousands  come. 
Oft  doth  the  soldier  hear  the  groan, 

And  sighs,  as  'neath  his  heel, 
He  treads  some  comrade  of  his  own, 

Pierced  by  the  foeman's  steel 
All,  all  around  is  carnage  drear, 

Is  horror  and  dismay. 
And  there's  a  dim,  infernal  glare. 

And  dire  yells  in  upper  air. 
As  though  the  hosts  of  hell  were  there, 

Waging  a  ghastly  fray. 

X. 

Ay,  awful  is  the  hour  of  fight. 

And  terrible  to  see, 
Yet  still  more  awful  is  the  flight. 

Greater  far  the  horrors  be 
When  from  a  ruthless  victor  foe, 

The  vanquished  thousands  fly  : 
All  crowded  in  a  mass  they  go. 

And  groan,  and  bleed  and  die. 
Then  not  a  hand  is  stretched  to  save. 
One  toil-worn  mortal  from  the  grave, 

For  all  around  is  fear. 
Like  the  frail  reed  borne  down  the  wave, 
That  rushes  to  a  darksome  cave. 

Is  each  poor  mortal  there. 
In  vain  for  mercy  thousands  call. 
As  on  the  gory  earth  they  fall, 


THE    BATTLE    OF    ANTIETAM.  139 

And  there  all  trampled  lie. 
In  vain  the  thousands  shriek  for  aid, 
For  them  no  comrade's  step  is  stay'd, 

To  succor  is  to  die. 
Terror  and  discord  lead  the  van, 

And  ruin  stalks  behind. 
And  on  their  rear  their  cause  of  fear, 

Comes  like  a  burning  wind. 
Yes,  let  the  shock  of  battle  come, 

With  all  its  clash  of  steel; 
Ay,  sound  the  fife,  and  beat  the  drum, 

Let  all  the  war-horns  peal ; 
Let  not  a  cannon's  mouth  be  dumb, 

And  swift  their  strength  reveal. 
Let  all  the  noise  of  battle  rise. 

And  blend  in  one  great  roar. 
And  thicker  far  than  driving  hail 

Let  bullets  round  us  pour  ; 
And  we  are  safer  'mid  the  storm. 

However  stern  the  fight. 
Than  'mid  the  wild  terrors  that  deform 

Such  an  unearthly  flight. 

XL 

Onward  we  went  in  dreadful  race. 

By  all  the  foes  pursued  ; 
Onward  swept  the  flight  and  chase, 

Through  glen  and  mountain  wood. 
Till  'mid  the  host,  a  voice  was  heard — 

A  voice  as  trumpet  loud — 
And  on  a  steed  a  form  was  seen. 

High  o'er  the  flying  crowd. 
No  voice,  among  the  sons  of  men, 

But  his  could  stop  that  flight; 
Like  magic  through  the  ranks  it  ran. 

Through  that  wild  ghastly  sight. 
"Ho  !  back,  ye  cowards!  back  !"  he  cried  ; 

"What,  flying  from  the  foe 
While  on  the  verge  of  victory  ? 

Turn,  and  smite  them  low  ! 
Back,  for  the  land  that  gave  you  birth, 

Your  children  and  your  wives, 
And  those  dear  ones  who  suckled  ye, 

And  give  away  your  lives  ! 
Take  no  quarter,  and  give  none; 

Rush  like  a  burning  wind  ; 
Terror  shall  fly  before  your  path 

And  ruin  stalk  behind  ! 
Let  the  winds  that  pass  o'er  your  graves 

Tell  other  climes  and  years  : 
Freemen  ye  lived  and  died — and  love 


140  THE     BATTLE     OF    AlSTIETAM. 

Shall  wet  your  tomb  with  tears  I" 
From  man  to  man,  from  rank  to  rank, 

His  words  like  lightning  flew  ; 
They  nerved  the  meanest  coward's  soul 

And  woke  the  war  anew. 
McClellan  conies!  McCIellan  comes! 

The  army  shouted  round, 
And  far  away,  the  rocky  hills 
Returned  the  joyous  sound. 
Then  like  a  fell  destroying  storm, 

Back  on  the  foes  we  bore. 
And  gave  three  cheers,  which  stunn'd  Lee's  ears, 

And  drown'd  the  battle's  roar. 
Like  a  meteor,  from  rank  to  rank, 

Our  gallant  leader  flew  ; 
Where'er  the  dauntless  hero  went 
Right  fierce  the  onslaught  grew, 
Where'er  the  hottest  battle  raged, 

The  gallant  chief  was  seen, 
His  visage  pale  as  is  the  corpse, 

His  eyes  as  lightning  sheen. 
His  words  fell  like  the  dews  of  heaven 

Upon  a  parching  land  ; 
They  urged  the  strong  to  deathless  deeds, 

And  nerved  the  weakest  hand  ; 
On  !  gallant  Ricketts.     On  !  he  cried, 

And  take  yon  mountain  ridge; 
And  Burnside — fight  on,  fight  on, 

And  keep  the  gory  Bridge, 
At  every  order  that  he  gave, 

At  every  burning  word 
From  all  his  fighting  host  around, 
A  mighty  shout  was  heard. 

XII. 

Then  loudly  fierce  Magruder  swore. 

And  fiery  Jackson  storni'd. 
And  on  like  devils  to  the  fray 

The  Southern  cohorts  swarm'd. 
In  their  midst,  on  a  sn  .w-white  steed, 

Their  sturdy  Lee  was  seen  ; 
His  voice  was  like  the  rising  gale 

That  stirs  the  forest  green. 
And  like  a  flashing  meteor, 

That  shines  through  night  afar. 
His  flaming  sword  was  waving  high, 

Amid  the  clcud  of  war. 
His  soul  was  a  lion  clad  with  wings; 

He  drank  joy  in  with  the  breath 
Of  fierce,  tumultuous  battle. 

And  the  gloomy  dust  of  death. 
"On  !  on  !  to  glory,  or  the  tomb !" 

He  cried — "  Ye  true  and  brave  ; 


THE    BATTLE    OF    ANTIETAM.  141 

On,  for  Liberty  and  Laws, 

Or  fill  a  freeman's  grave. 
Press  on  !  press  on  !  till  every  man 

Lies  piled  amidst  the  slaughter, 
And  none  are  left  to  bury  us, 

Save  mother,  wife  or  daughter." 
From  band  to  band  that  stai'k  command. 

Like  forked  lightning  passed  ; 
And  then  lance,  and  bayonet,  and  sword. 

Rushed  on  in  numbers  vast. 
And  then  a  mighty  shout  arouse 

From  the  Southern  multitude, 
Like  the  noise  of  fell  blasts  that  drive 

Through  some  wild  ancient  wood. 
On  Hill  and  Longstreet  roaring  flew, 

'Mid  shrouds  of  smoke  and  iron  rain, 
And  with  ten  thousand  snorting  steeds. 

Fierce  Stuart  dashed  amain. 
Though  on  they  came  like  a  heaving  flood, 

Proudly  we  met  the  shock  ; 
Aye,  still  with  bristling  front  we  stood, 

As  solid  as  a  rock. 
But  faster  still  the  mortars  round 

Belched  forth  their  awfnl  thunder  ; 
Peal  on  peal  they  crashing  roar'd, 

'Till  earth  seem'd  rent  asunder. 
And  thickj  like  burning,  driving  clouds, 

The  bullets  sped  through  air ; 
From  host  to  host  they  hissing  flew 

Upon  their  dread  career. 
The  hoarded  thunders  of  all  time, 

Pealing  old  p]arth's  decay. 
Will  but  a  low,  faint  whisper  be 

To  the  roaring  of  that  fray. 

XIIL' 

Now  to  the  right  of  the  Southern. might, 

Before  a  narrow  pass, 
A  strong  and  mighty  battery  stood — 

Long  rows  of  hollow  brass ; 
Tier  upon  tier,  tube  behind  tube. 

The  ghastly  entrance  kept 
Of  that  dark  vale,  and  in  their  wombs 

A  thousand  thunders  slept 
But  we  paused  not  here  our  columns, 

To  catch  a  moment's  breath  ; 
Though  the  road  before  was  leading  o'er 

To  the  grisly  jaws  of  death. 
For  naught  could  daunt  the  Northern  soul ! 

Like  a  river  red  and  large, 
Upon  that  Southern  battery 

We  made  a  furious  charge. 


142  THE    BATTLE    OF    ANTTETAM. 

Onward  we  rusted  to  take  the  mound, 

Though  all  its  cannon  roar'd, 
And  red  hot  iron  on  our  ranks 
Down  like  a  deluge  pour'd. 
Still  pressing  onward  to  the  mound 

The  Northern  squadrons  came, 
Through  wasting  storms  of  shot  and  shell, 

And  through  sulphurous  flame. 
Aye,  in  vain  the  mortars  pour'd 
Their  floods  of  steel  and  fire  ; 
Still,  onward  to  the  mound  we  drew, 

Nigher  still,  and  nigher, 
Until  slaughter'd  battalions  fill'd 

The  ghastly  trenches  round, 
And  bore  their  stern  avengers  o'er 
To  the  hated  Southern  mound  ; 
Then  hand  to  hand,  in  mortal  fray, 

The  Northmen  met  their  foes, 
Blood  streamed  for  blood,  death  came  for  death, 

And  blows  were  heap'd  on  blows. 
Fast  heads,  trunks,  and  quivering  limbs, 

Splashed  in  the  crimson  tide, 
And  many  a  strong  soldier  fell 
His  foeman's  corse  beside. 

XIY. 

As  the  swollen  flood  of  Nile, 

That  overflows  its  banks, 
So,  o'er  the  bristling  battlement. 

Poured  in  the  Northern  ranks; 
And  fast  besiegers  and  besieged 

Were  mingling  in  a  mass. 
When  in  fell  rout  the  Southern  bands 

Went  flying  up  the  pass. 
Fast  up  the  gloomy  winding  vale 

Their  horrid  flight  they  poured, 
While  at  their  heels  the  Northmen  flew, 

With  gory,  dripping  sword. 
But  as  we  flew,  alas !  we  drew 

Within  the  jaws  of  hell, 
For  the  foes  had  batteries  on  hills 

That  overlooked  the  dell, 
And  suddenly  upon  us  came 

An  awful  storm  of  shell, 
Such  a  roar  and  blaze  of  lightning 

From  ofi"  those  mountains  came, 
They  seem'd  like  fell  volcanos  wrapt 

In  one  stupendous  flame. 
It  seemed,  as  though  the  demons 

Had  risen  against  us  then, 
And  brought  the  guns  of  hell  to  bear 


THE    BATTLE    OF    ANTIKTAM. 

Upon  the  march  of  men. 
Upon  us  fast  a  hundred  guns 

Belched  forth  their  iron  rain  ; 
The  vale  was  dyed  with  human  gore, 

And  piled  with  heaps  of  slain. 
Born  away  on  the  battle  cloud 

That  path  their  spirits  trod, 
That  dark  and  awful  path  that  leads 

To  the  judg  ment-seat  of  GrOD. 
Unceasing  the  fell  voUies  roared, 

And  fast  the  iron  flew, 
'Till  night  o'er  that  unearthly  scene 

Her  sable  mantle  threw. 
O'er  the  world  a  sullen  darkness  fell, 

Dread  chaos  all  conceal'd, 
Darkness  horrible  as  all  hell 

Hid  sky,  and  hill,  and  field. 

XV. 

And  never  night  so  welcome  yet 

E'er  came  to  mortal  man, 
Or  came  to  hide  a  battle  field 

Since  this  vast  world  began. 
For,  from  sunrise  until  sunset. 

That  battle  had  not  ceased. 
Nor  had  a  warrior  paused  to  rest. 

Save  those  whom  death  released 
Of  that  fierce  toil,  and  those,  alas  ! 

Lay  round  in  numbers  vast, 
Mountains  of  slain  were  heaped  around 

All  gory  and  aghast. 
There  piled  in  common  carnage  lie, 

Those  whom  mothers  long  shall  mourn. 
Those  for  whom  orphans  long  shall  grieve, 

And  widows  weep  forlorn. 
Floating  in  blood,  with  slaughter'd  steeds, 

They  cumber  all  the  ground. 
Or  lie  in  the  roaring  waters. 

Of  red  Antietam  drown'd. 
Yes,  many  a  home  within  the  land, 

Some  cherished  one  has  there — 
Whose  form  no  more  again  they'll  see, 

Nor  voice  again  they'll  hear. 
Nor  can  the  news  of  victory, 

One  little  hour  beguile 
The  grief  they  bear,  for  those  who  sleep 

On  Antietam's  carnage  pile. 

XVI. 

Now  comrades  has  a  soldier  told, 
In  numbers  weak  and  bIow, 


UP> 


IM  THE     BATTLE     OF     ANTIETAM^ 

How  we  at  dread  Antietam  fought, 

To  crush  rebellion  low. 
Had  I  a  muse  like  that  of  yore 

Who  sung  of  Hector's  fall, 
Then  would  I  wake  a  tune  and  take, 

And  hold  your  hearts  in  thrall. 
Then  would  I  tell  how  Rickett  s  storm'd, 

And  won  the  mountain  ridge, 
And  how  intrepid  Burnside  fought, 

And  kept  the  gory  bridge. 
Tell  how  they  in  triumph  rear'd  the  flag, 

The  flag  that  oft  had  stood. 
Waving  o'er  piles  of  foemen  dead. 

And  fields  of  streaming  blood. 
Like  a  fire  my  song  should  roar. 

Through  the  wild  stubborn  fray, 
And  paint  McCIellan  'midst  the  sceneg 

Of  horror  and  dismay. 
How  he  led  each  dire  assault 

And  roll'd  the  war  along 
Should  be  my  theme ;  all  his  cannon 

Thundering  in  my  song. 
Amidst  the  mighty  works  of  war, 

I'd  paint  the  hero  then 
Such  as  he  was  ;  a  being  shining 

High  o'er  all  other  men  ; 
In  the  fierce  battle's  foremost  line, 

Should  the  bold  hero  stand, 
Wrath  and  destruction  in  his  look. 

And  lightning  in  his  hand  ; 
Like  Homer's  Achilles  when  he  rose 

To  meet  the  Trojan  ire, 
And  rushed  amidst  ten  thousand  foes. 

And  made  all  Troy  retire. 


MY  ELLENORE. 


The  rain  pours  down,  the  sky  is  dark, 
Save  when  the  lightnings  flash. 

The  thunders  roll,  the  billows  stark, 

Oft  upon  our  plunging  bark. 
Come  with  a  mighty  dash. 

My  comrades  all  have  gone  to  sleep, 

And  I  am  left  alone. 
To  guide  her  through  the  raging  deep, 


MY    KLLENORE.  145 

And  brave  the  storms  that  round  me  sweep 
With  sad  and  sullen  moan. 

But  one  thing  here,  amid  this  storm, 

Has  force  to  soothe  my  care, 
Hath  power  to  keep  my  spirit  warm. 
And  cheer  for  aye  my  weary  form, 

Upon  a  night  so  drear. 

'Tis  thoughts  of  thee,  thou  cherished  one, 

My  gentle  Ellenore; 
God  of  the  tender,  frail  and  lone. 
To  whom  no  prayer  is  breathed  unknown, 

Oh  !  guard  her  evermore, 

Oh  !  keep  Thou  her  from  every  ill 

That  doth  beset  mankind  : 
Almighty  Father,  at  whose  will, 
The  ocean  tosses  or  lies  still, 

Keep  her,  body,  soul  and  mind. 

* 

Oh  !  Thou  who  formed  the  trembling  land. 

And  made  the  roaring  sea, 
Within  whose  strong  eternal  hand. 
This  world  is  as  a  grain  of  sand. 

Who  through  all  time  shall  be, 

Teach  her,  through  all  her  joy  or  pain, 

Thou'rt  God  ot  all  below  ; 
And  from  the  distant  land  or  main, 
Can'st  bring  the  wanderer  home  again. 

And  soothe  his  deepest  woe. 

Teach  her  to  trust  in  Thee  alone — 

As  through  life's  vale  of  tears 
She  journey's  on  ;  let  no  harsh  tone, 
No  angry  look,  disturb  or  gloom 

The  Sabbath  of  her  years. 

Father  of  all,  at  whose  command, 

Empires  fall  or  rise. 
Who  hold'st  the  whirlwind  in  Thy  hand. 
Or  bids  it  waste  a  trembling  land, 

Unknown  to  whom  nought  dies — 

This  night  while  she  kneels  before  Thy  throne. 

May  she  by  Thee  be  blest ; 
And  when  upon  her  pillow  lone 
Her  weary  head  to  sleep  hath  gone 

Still  gladden  Thou  her  rest. 


146  TO    lANTHE. 

By  day,  by  night,  in  joy  or  pain, 

Whate'er  of  woe  betide, 
And  whether,  in  this  stormy  main 
I  sleep,  or  journey  home  again, 
Grod  shield  my  promised  bride. 


TO   lANTHE. 


And  so  at  last  the  die  is  cast, 
And  you  and  I  must  sever — 

With  all  my  heart,  for  my  own  part, 
I  hope  'twill  be  forever. 

You  need  not  cry,  nor  heave  a  sigh, 

For  human  love  is  fickle, 
And  yours  and  mine,  though  once  divine, 

Has  proved  like  glass  as  brittle. 


Why  shed  a  tear  that's  not  sincere  ? 

Ours  are  no  more  beguiling  ; 
They  do  not  start  from  the  inward  heart, 

So  we  shall  part  a  smiling. 


Since  his  race  began,  too  frail  was  man 
For  constant  love  and  wooing, 

They  will  deceive  all  who  believe 
So  has  man  been  ever  doing. 


Aye,  through  all  time,  in  every  clime, 
They've  been  deceivers  ever; 

One  hand  on  gold  and  one  on  mold; 
To  one  thing  constant  never. 


And  women,  too,  have  been  untrue. 
To  those  who  loved  them  dearly  3 

Many  a  wife  has  saddened  life, 
Aye,  made  it  dull  and  dreary. 


And  since  true  love  doth  seldom  more 
Within  this  world  of  ours, 

We'er  not  the  first  to  break  and  burst 
The  vows  of  bygone  hours. 


POETS.  147 


So  let  us  part  with  gladsome  heart, 
All  grief  and  anguish  smother  ; 

Your  love  is  dead,  and  mine  has  fled, 
The  love  we  bore  each  other. 


POETS. 


Poets  are  a  wild,  mysterious  race, 

The  world  is  all  their  own  ; 
They  throw  a  darkness  o'er  the  brightest  place, 

And  make  fair  the  drear  and  lone  ; 
Their  paths  are  on  the  bellowing  ocean. 

And  by  the  mountain's  side, 
They  give  to  dead  things  strength,  life  and  motion, 

Where  others  vainly  tried. 
'Tis  theirs  the  power  to  soothe  the  saddest  soul. 

And  make  it  smile  at  woe  ; 
And  over  joy  a  mirky  cloud  to  roll. 

Making  tears  of  pity  flow. 
'Tis  theirs  the  power  to  raise  the  grovelling  mind 

To  grand  and  noble  things, 
Waft  it  to  virtue's  realm,  pure,  refined, 

As  though  on  angel's  wings. 
By  them,  on  glory's  glowing  deathless  page, 

The  warrior  lives  enshrined, 
His  sorrows  and  his  joys,  from  age  to  age, 

Are  sung  to  human  kind. 
They  are  a  mighty  and  a  godlike  race. 

And  mortals  own  their  power ; 
Their  fame  and  glory  outlive  time  and  place 

And  earth's  loftiest  tower. 
They  are  a  wandering  and  a  wayward  throng, 

Careless  of  their  weal  or  woes, 
Their  fancy  with  the  whirlwind  sweeps  along, 

Or  with  the  lightning  glows. 
'Tis  said  the  ravens  mourn  when  the  war-clad 


Conqueror  yields  his  breath  ; 
ut  all  mute  and  living  things 
And  mourn  the  Poet's  death. 


But  all  mute  and  living  things  on  earth  are  sad 


PHTHISIS. 


There's  a  dread  and  dire  disease — 
A  scourge  amongst  the  race  of  clay  j 

It  rides  on  every  blast  and  breeze  ; 
O'er  all  the  world  it  holds  its  sway. 

A  disease  that  makes  sleep  and  rest 
Unrefreshing  to  the  human  frame ; 


148 


PHTHISIS. 


That  makes  it  ever  feel  oppressed 

With  some  dull  sense  it  cannot  name ; 
Which  paints  with  transient  bloom  the  cheeks, 

A  beautiful,  yet  morbid  glow — 
Like  those  red,  unnatural  streaks, 

The  perished  leaves  of  Autumn  show; 
And  gives,  at  times,  the  sunken  eye 

Most  strange,  unearthly  gleams  of  light, 
And  spreads  pallor  o'er  the  forehead  high, 
Like  the  corpse's  hue  of  ghastly  white  ; 
But  cheerful  leaves  the  mind — no  pall 

Dims  or  clouds  its  horizon  fair ; 
It,  aye,  culls  fresh  rays  of  hope  from  all 

The  ghastly  causes  of  despair. 
A  dread  disease,  that  so  prepares 

Its  victim,  as  it  were,  for  death  ; 
Its  mortal  parts  of  grossness  clears, 

Yet  thick  and  heavy  makes  the  breathy 
And  round  familiar  features  throws 

Aspects  and  shades  refined  and  strange — 
Dread,  unearthly  signs,  marks,  forms,  shows. 

And  tokens  of  the  coming  change, 
A  dread  disease,  whose  strong  embrace 
Though  twined  so  tenderly  at  first — 
Scarce  a  victim  on  the  earth's  broad  face 

Can  from  its  fatal  bondage  burst. 
A  dread  disease,  in  which  the  war 
Between  the  body  and  the  soul 
Is  so  gradual,  quiet,  sure, 

And  solemn  in  its  onward  roll, 
That  day  by  day,  and  grain  by  grain, 

The  mortal  atoms  waste  away  , 
So  that  the  soul  grows  light  and  fain 
To  feel  its  lightening  load  decay ; 
And,  feeling  immortality 

At  hand,  with  all  its  glory  rife, 
Feels  a  wild  thrill  of  ecstasy — 
Deems  it  a  new  term  of  mortal  life ; 
A  disease  in  which  life  and  death,  aye. 

So  strangely  blend,  and  seem  the  same, 
That  death  takes  life's  glow,  and  hue,  and  ray, 
And  life,  death's  gaunt  and  grisly  frame. 


PEN?!A.  KAILRGA9  DEFT., 


YOUi^Q  .. 


Hate,  Ut.  Issue  jyuii 


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H.E.H. 

DUPi.. 


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